


If You Dare

by JustJim, Useless_girl



Series: Home Is Where the Spark Is [18]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aged up characters, Alpha Derek, Anal Sex, Anger, Anxiety, Betrayal, Bottom Stiles, Detective Stiles, Elevator Sex, Emissary in Training Stiles, Emotions, Epic Romance, Family time, Fighting, Fluff, Healing from Injuries, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Knotting, Love, M/M, Magic, Magic Stiles, Magical Tattoo, Mating, Near Death Experience, PTSD, Rough Sex, Secrets, Slash, Soulmates, Spark Stiles, Supernatural - Freeform, Top Derek, Training, Trauma, Werewolf Lore, Werewolves, canon and non-canon elements, emissary bond, emissary lore, emissary stiles, fears, handjob, m/m - Freeform, mate bond, matured Stiles, near panic attack, post-Teen Wolf, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:20:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 55,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26812045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustJim/pseuds/JustJim, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Useless_girl/pseuds/Useless_girl
Summary: How much strain can a Mate and Emissary Bond take before snapping? And how much power someone needs to resist becoming a dark druid? The challenges the mates face next are the hardest they ever had to deal with. Will they manage to overcome these hardships as well, or will they fail and lose each other in the process?
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Home Is Where the Spark Is [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607563
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	1. 18: If You Dare - Part 1

**Note:** This is the 18th part of the “[Home Is Where the Spark Is](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607563)” series. To understand better what’s going on, we recommend reading the previous entries. Enjoy!

 **Fandoms:** Teen Wolf, Sterek

 **Characters/relationships:** Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale, Jordan Parrish, Alan Deaton, Melissa McCall, Sheriff Noah Stilinski, original characters

 **Rating/category:** supernatural, post-Teen Wolf, canon and non-canon elements, slash, M/M, Sterek, aged up characters, Spark Stiles, Magic Stiles, Emissary Stiles, Emissary in training Stiles, detective Stiles, matured Stiles, Alpha Derek, epic romance, love, magic, soulmates, Mate bond, Emissary bond, werewolves, kidnapping, near death experience, hurt/comfort, emotions, training, fighting, betrayal, PTSD, trauma, near panic attack, anxiety, fears, healing from injuries, magical tattoo, anger, werewolf lore, emissary lore, secrets, fluff, family time, top Derek, bottom Stiles, handjob, elevator sex, anal sex, rough sex, knotting, mating

 **Summary:** How much strain can a Mate and Emissary Bond take before snapping? And how much power someone needs to resist becoming a dark druid? The challenges the mates face next are the hardest they ever had to deal with. Will they manage to overcome these hardships as well, or will they fail and lose each other in the process?

 **Disclaimer:** This is a product of our imagination and was written only for entertainment and fun. We don’t profit from this fanfiction and we mean no harm or disrespect against any real person, culture or custom that might appear in the story. All original pictures or edits and fictional characters used in the story belong to their respective owners and credit goes to them.

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_[kasienkanikki edit](https://kasienkanikki.tumblr.com/post/92757366702/slash-summer-challenge-2014-6-full-size-here#notes) _

**Home Is Where the Spark Is  
** _By Just Jim & Useless-girl_

**18: If You Dare – Part 1**

It’s been two days since that unfortunate attempt of Stiles trying to lock his magic away for good, and the brief reunion with his long-dead mother. Understandably, that night took a lot out of the already messed up and exhausted emissary. So he slept through most of the following day and then once Derek forced some food and energy drinks into him, later that day they did that much needed balancing.

It helped Stiles recover quicker once he took all that excess magic back which he had made Derek store to make sure he was going to be okay for a long while once the ritual was done and he became a simple human again. Well, obviously that plan has changed and the druid needed some time until the magic settled and became one with him again.

He also paid attention not to pull away and close up from Derek. He hated to do that anyway, so that at last was something he was glad not to do. Keeping secrets and emotions from your soulmate was a tricky and exhausting business.

The sheriff dropped by thankfully only when Stiles looked much better than when he woke up. They summed up the latest happenings to him, trying to be as gentle as possible with the Claudia topic. But Stiles didn’t want to keep that from his dad. Understandably, Noah was shocked and didn’t really know what to do with the information that his dead wife was keeping tabs on them and tried to occasionally protect them. The fact that it seemed she moved with her son and wasn’t lingering around in the Stilinski house helped the sheriff start to process and accept it – and yes, Stiles kinda found it cute how his dad turned red then.

At least things were calm around the Stilinski house and Beth was okay too. Stiles had heard earlier when he was still half-asleep that Derek had a video chat session with the little miss before Noah’s visit. She seemed to be fine with being around Jordan - probably also because he smelled like pack more now, thanks to Derek accepting him as a member of their pack.

The second day after breakfast Stiles and Derek had something else to do. Namely, starting the practice with the fire. Stiles had updated Deaton about the situation too and he sounded genuinely relieved on the phone from his protege not going through with the ritual. He also supported the idea of getting Derek used to the fire aspect of Stiles. “It’s way past time,” were his exact words and they both knew he was right.

So now Stiles was sitting on a pillow on the living room’s hardwood floor, Derek sitting opposite him. “So... how should we do this? I mean... do you have an idea how it’d be easier for you?” he asked, obviously not wanting to freak out or trigger his mate.

Fire, it had always been a problem since Derek was sixteen but he had worked hard on getting used to it. So by the time he had met Stiles and cohorts, Derek had used blowtorches and matches without problems. If anything, he used them so often to burn out wolfsbane that he had to admit back then, there was some satisfaction in using it. Making a fire for heat hadn't been a problem, nor had candles or fireplaces. Big fires might be more of a problem but he hadn't experienced one to know. And even Peter forcing the memories on Derek hadn't changed that. No, it had been Hell throwing in a wrench, when he had been burned to a crisp repeatedly, had been forced to relive the memories of his family over and over until fire had became an enemy, something to fear. At first it had been fine, there were fake candles, there was no fireplace at the time so what if fire was something he had avoided?  
  
Now though, it was influencing their future together, it was becoming a problem for the whole pack since two of his betas were practically made out of fire. It had been a problem between him and his mate, so it was time to get past it before it would do lasting damage. Derek didn't mind fear, fear was good, it kept him on his toes but it had never been a reason not to do something, but it was now a problem he wasn't going to run away from. Not anymore. Not that it meant he was sitting there comfortably.  
  
They were going to do small exercises to ease him into it, even though Derek was impatient. He wanted to be able to light their wood burner, he wanted to be able to put a cake with candles in front of Beth so she could blow them out on her birthday. He wanted to be able to surprise Stiles with romance by lighting candles, wanted to be able to use the blowtorch again.

"I don't think this is going to be easy no matter how we do it." But the two of them sitting like this, in their home, it was a good way to start. Obviously for bigger fires they were going to have to move outside because he didn't want another home burned down. "This is good though, even though I feel ridiculous that our goal is for me to light a candle today and get used to your fire in small amounts."

"It's natural that you feel like that, but you're far from ridiculous, Derek. We're going to work through this particular trauma so you can be more at ease around fire again. You know you had done that once in the past... before Hell. So you have to remind yourself that you are capable of doing it," Stiles lightly shrugged and laced his fingers together to stretch them in front of him before wriggling them.  
  
"Alright, so baby steps," Stiles reminded Derek. "I'm going to light a small fire in my palm. You had seen that and you know that it won't hurt you. It's not real fire without my intention to burn anything. You don't have to do anything with it, I just want you to be in its presence for a while before we do anything else or make an attempt to light a candle with a match. That's our end goal anyways," he shrugged again with a small reassuring smile.  
  
He knew how hard this was for his mate, but he felt proud of him for being willing to work on it for everyone's – especially Derek's own – sake. Such a weakness could be exploited by the enemy. Which had happened many times to the wolf, especially in Hell.  
  
"I know you associate fire with loss and unimaginable mental and physical pain for everything that had happened to you in connection with it. I think... maybe you should try to start associating it with positive things too. Like me," he beamed, sitting up a bit straighter and pointing at himself, half-jokingly to ease Derek up a bit.

Normally he would have used snark and say something along the lines of questioning if Stiles was a positive thing too, which would have resulted in bickering back and forth. But with the way Stiles had been struggling with himself lately and everything they had been going through, he swallowed the need to use blunt trolling and instead gave a smile. The attempt at one at least because it was kind of caught between a grimace and a nervous flicker of a smile. Stiles' magic was fire, so yeah, if he finds a way to anchor himself to all part of his mate and not only certain things, it might work.  
  
It was all about mental conditioning, because fear was all in the head. The wall helped, sure, but it also meant in some things he hadn't gotten better, like trauma-related things. And Derek knew there was no way it was going to help them if they eased up on the wall, so he had to find ways around it. Like whatever triggered memories hiding behind that wall, such as fire.  
  
"It's more than that. When we learn about Heaven and Hell, we learn about these typical ideas of what they look like. But it's not anything like that. Hell is like caves and wasteland and darkness and fire too. But it can also be cold and freezing. I've seen Hell so I should know it's not the inferno as you're made to think but fire is Hell for me. So you're right, I need to get past that idea."  
  
Fire was good, fire meant warmth, memories of blowing out birthday candles, of making s'mores over a campfire, of using it to burn down soil so it could regrow again. And Stiles, as his phoenix self soaring in his soul in a way.

"I was late with control over my shift on full moons, as you know. I've always had trouble letting go of something and replacing it with something better."

"Yes, I know you are a late bloomer in some things and that's fine. Though in this case I think we can agree that it's time to help the process so you can get through this and with that make us both stronger. You know this isn't just about you anymore. We are in everything together now as mates, whether we like it or not. I think I fully realized that after mom had stopped me. Yes, I knew that before too, but that was the moment when I opened my eyes and believed it," he said and while talking, he turned his right hand upwards, lightly curling his fingers as he let the magic loose a bit.  
  
"That's why from now on I don't want to make important decisions or solve problems that concern both of us on my own. I've learned my lesson. I want to help you get to that point of realization too. Because it's important for both of us. Everything we feel and struggle with affects both of us and we need to do this... to want this to do together. That's why I'm here and will always be here for you. Like you've been here for me too. You saved me from myself at the greenhouse. Now let me help save you from yourself," he said and let the magic concentrate on his palm, a small magical flame flickering into life there, dancing slowly between the slender fingers.

  


"We both know you can do it again. And besides... this is just me, your skinny babble-mouth, hyperactive and annoying mate who drives you up the walls more often than not, but who also loves you and would do anything for you," he smiled warmly at Derek, trying to put him at more ease with drawing his attention a bit away from the flame with his words – hoping it would work.

Oh, the Hale was well aware that it wasn't about just him anymore, that was the burden of an alpha, it was never going to be about him anymore. His focus had always been on keeping pack safe, even back when they had met and the pack had been a group of teenagers who didn't want him around. For Derek it had never been about him, all the decisions he had made in his life had been for others. Hell, losing half of his soul... it had been to keep Beth safe. Having the soul returned was to keep Stiles and Beth safe. So Stiles saying that it wasn't just about him anymore, it hurt.  
  
"I'm not sitting here willing to face a stupid fear I already beat before, for myself, Stiles. I'm doing this for us, for our family, our pack and our future." Stiles had been the one wanting to make the big decisions without him while Derek's only secret had been the proposal. The rest had always been discussed because he wasn't the man he was before, the lone wolf. Derek sighed, letting go of the anger, it wasn't worth it to lash out over it. It was good Stiles had come to that same conclusion after the error of the greenhouse. And he was going to have to trust him not to do something like that again without talking to his mate and his alpha about it. This had always been about them both to Derek. If he died, Stiles would die. It was not something he treated lightly because when he had to fight, he was putting his faith into the human's hands to be able to help him if he did get badly injured even for a werewolf.  
  
Letting go of the anger. Ha, nice try. As he was staring at the small flame, he couldn't help but glare at it, as if it could be glared into submission. All of this was stupid and his fear of such a small flame was idiotic. And he was so focused on his anger that his fear had no chance to manifest, he stared at the flame and was fine with it.

"Is that what you really think of me? That I don't realize that this is about more than me?" As Derek asked it, he kept looking at the flame.  
  
"I don't need a wedding for us to be forever. I already made that promise to you and I'm not going to break it. ‘Us’ means you and me. Not me and me. I trust you, I love you. And maybe I haven't shown you enough of how much I'm into this." With that he placed his hand over the fire, more on instinct in this need to prove himself. In his anger and love, the freaking fire meant so very little. It wasn't until he stared at the flames licking at his skin without harming him that he felt the heat of the fire.

Stiles could feel the hurt and anger rising in Derek and it made his smile fade away, his lips pressing together as he kept listening to his mate and watching him move closer. The words could've hurt Stiles too, if he let it happen, but he remembered that for a long time Derek's anchor was anger. It had changed to Stiles some time during the years they've known each other. And perhaps now he was using those two things to work through the fear, which he couldn't feel that much this time as the wolf watched the harmless flame making contact with his hand.  
  
"No, I don't see you like this. I know you'd put anyone you love before yourself. I meant that this affects us both and that you are not alone in this anymore. Just like I'm not alone either. We've been one whole, one unit ever since our mating. I guess I needed time and some reminders for that too to fully let it sink in. Hence why I'll try to talk through everything that might come up with you from now on. I don't want to make a mistake like in the greenhouse again. I know you are not that good in communicating but you've made great progress. And I know we more often than not sense each other's thoughts or understand the other from looks and half-words too. I'm sure this will only get better with time to avoid misunderstandings like what just happened," he explained, hoping that Derek would understand.  
  
The emissary stretched out his long fingers to let the magical flame dance more freely on his palm, playfully licking along Derek's hand. "See? It'll never hurt you. This flame is an extension of me, like the magic."

As much as they understood wrong, as often as they would mess up their communication, there was one thing Derek would be able to count on: Stiles knew him. Knew him enough to realize that however it sounded or whatever misguided conclusion the wolf made, it wasn't going to mean Stiles would get up and walk away. He didn't get offended. And as Derek was thinking that, Stiles was pretty much explaining it. Their bond had grown so much, the human had often voiced some of Derek's thoughts and now a lot of the time the Hale didn't have to say much, Stiles picked it up seamlessly.  
  
Which was also voiced. It earned the younger man arched eyebrows. It should have been scary, all of this. Them together, sensing moods and thoughts and knowing things before they were said. After what they all had been through, this, between them, so deep and so strong, it should make them fear it, doubt it. Should. Because it didn't. Stiles was home to him, he was his anchor, his safety blanket, the one he'd turn to in the good and the bad. Nothing of Stiles should... scare him. Derek’s thoughts trailed off.  
  
He stared at the flame licking at his hand, the heat he felt without his skin torched. That wasn't just a flame. That was Stiles. That wasn't Stiles' magic. That was Stiles. Everything fell in place. A watery smile – why did he become so emotional that there were tears brimming in his eyes? – broke on his face as he toyed with the flame. This was Stiles.  
  
Derek grabbed the hand, dousing the flame as their fingers entwined, so he could pull him close and kiss him. "I love you."

Stiles could see when things finally clicked in Derek's mind, when he finally understood. There was a subtle change in how he felt Derek through the bonds too. Relief. Understanding. His mate felt a little bit lighter. So when the flame ceased to exist and he was pulled in for that kiss, Stiles smiled on the teary expression on Derek's face and kissed back.  
  
"I love you too, Derek. And I'm so proud of you," he reached up with his free hand, sighing happily, and ran his thumb across the wolf's cheek, right under his eye. Stiles felt more... accepted and that in turn made his own soul feel lighter, a soft smile gracing his lips before he kissed Derek again – this time a little bit deeper and filled with his emotions for his brave wolf.  
  
"Better?" he asked in-between soft chaste kisses, his fingers lightly squeezing Derek's hand as they were still entwined.

"Yes. Much." There was no magical cure for fear but he knew as long as he reminded himself that whatever shape the magic was going to take, it was Stiles and it wasn't fire, it was going to be fine. There was going to be slip ups, it was unavoidable but the first step was made, a big one. As long as they were going to not have too many problems when slip ups happened, he was happy with the progress made.  
  
Releasing his mate after another quick kiss, he nodded. "Let's try a bigger flame." Who knows, maybe in a few days they could at least light a few candles for a romantic mood. Besides sex and blood and injuries and pain, romance had been severely lacking lately. Then again, with the alpha out there, they could have romance once they won and taken care of this Zepar.

Stiles was very satisfied with the progress already made. Frankly, it went better than what he hoped for. And Derek suggesting to try a bigger flame only made him feel prouder of his mate and he let that seep through their bonds as he slid right next to the other man, nuzzling to his side, their thighs touching. He put an arm around him and held out the other in front of them.  
  
"You're doing great, love," Stiles said then concentrated on his palm again, the magic doing what he wanted to do the next second. The flame was bigger this time and after a few moments it flowed down to cover Stiles' whole forearm, dancing happily there, the glowing in the druid's eyes intensifying as he kept up his concentration. He hoped he wasn't overdoing it for Derek, but he waited patiently for his reaction.

  
[ _Click for the gif_ ](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/b0276b76-4182-455a-abee-f06f5760e88c/de69pd7-20387633-8d19-43ba-8147-9178bc6c3695.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYjAyNzZiNzYtNDE4Mi00NTVhLWFiZWUtZjA2ZjU3NjBlODhjXC9kZTY5cGQ3LTIwMzg3NjMzLThkMTktNDNiYS04MTQ3LTkxNzhiYzZjMzY5NS5naWYifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.MXaX5e8HZ5zzTNsPe7g7HeEaZat9sg4b4KbJOUsWBMw)

He already started having some ideas how they could use the combination of the fire and Derek's skills in combat, but that had to wait for a little while longer to be brought up for the wolf.

When Derek said to try for a bigger flame, he had expected it to go from a flame in the hand to a hand on fire, but not a whole arm. His first instinct was to douse the flames immediately because it looked like Stiles was on fire himself, as if he was about to burn. But it didn't have the same scent as actual flames so he curbed the instinct after his eyes had widened. Stiles probably had been expecting that reaction with the arm wrapped around the Hale, not going anywhere even though the normally tense muscles got even tenser. It was instinct, the body getting ready to fight or flight.  
  
Derek took a few shuddering breaths. This was fine, this was not fire, this was Stiles. But he didn't reach out to touch and he didn't like it when he was fine with the flame in the palm. He mostly wanted to get up to get a bucket of water to throw on Stiles, which would probably not do much besides getting the human wet.

"I don't like seeing you on fire." But he wasn't really on fire because there was no scent of burning skin. There was no sign of the skin changing at all. There was no pain screaming at him through their bonds. There was only the increase in heat, the sound of the flames hungrily searching for something to sink their teeth in, so to speak.  
  
He was frozen in place, unsure what to do or say. Allowing himself to get used to being so near it. Tomorrow he'd touch it, tomorrow would be better. This was to get used to it.

Stiles expected this much from Derek's reactions and to his credit, the wolf didn't try to flee or jumped to douse the flames. Which was progress in Stiles' eyes. He turned his arm to the left then to the right and slightly wiggled his fingers at the end, making the flames dance a bit faster before they slowed back down.  
  
"I know you don't, but then again, I'm not really on fire and you know that," Stiles winked at Derek before pressing a reassuring/soothing kiss against his face. "I'm fine and you'll get used to seeing me like this – and being more 'on fire' since I'm sure the phoenix will make a comeback when necessary. To be honest, it still amazes me that I'm capable of doing something like that. It was quite the shock and definitely something to digest. It looks badass, though, if you ask me..." Stiles said on a light, chatty tone, obviously trying to put Derek's mind at ease and to kinda distract him too.  
  
"When I'm like this I feel no pain – as you can tell yourself because of our connection. I only feel some of the heat and the tingling of my magic under the skin. It's fascinating, really. I wonder if Jordan feels something similar when the hound takes over..." he mused, looking back at the flames while leaning his head on Derek's shoulder, his other hand lightly caressing the wolf's side.

The phoenix had been separate from Stiles almost, but this was more like he was on fire himself, like a firestarter or a hellhound like Parrish. "I don't think Jordan feels much of anything when the hound is in control," Derek hummed, especially since at first the deputy hadn't even been aware of anything when the other in him took over and it had taken a lot of work from both the hound and Parrish to get where they were now. Jordan was allowed to know what was going on but the two weren't working together as well as the Hale would have liked. Some training was needed there.  
  
"Maybe you're right about Jordan. We should ask him next time. I know about his work in progress kind of state with the hound now," Stiles nodded, glad that Derek was more or less relaxing on his side. His... or rather their... plan seemed to be working because it seemed that the alpha was starting to get used to the presence of the flame. No freaking out, just some tension and hyper-awareness about his environment.  
  
As they talked, or more as Stiles babbled on and got comfortable against Derek, the more he was relaxing again – as relaxed as he could get that was. It wasn't that the flaming arm was beginning to be normal but it was more part of the situation. A flaming arm should probably never be part of normal, since the flames didn't hurt the mates, it was still fire able to do damage around them. Though when the hound walked into a building, he wasn't setting everything aflame either. Unless he wanted to. They should know what kind of damage the flames could do, if it was like everything with magic: being about intent.  
  
"Touch something that's okay to burn," Derek spoke up suddenly. It was good to know now how much damage the flames could do. "Or maybe two things. One you want to burn, the other you don't want to burn. It doesn't hurt me but it hurt Zepar. We need to know how it works." Oh wait, they had the tea lights there for Derek to try to light so he pushed one to Stiles.

To Derek's suggestion, Stiles lifted his head and sat up more, pulling his hand back from the warm side to adjust the tea light on the floor between them. "I know how it works. It's all about intention. My kind of magic is based on that. Deaton's books doesn't lie about that at least," he chuckled shortly then moved his flaming hand over the candle's wick. "Like... right now I don't want to light this candle, so the wick won't catch on fire, no matter how long I keep my hand there..." he explained while moving his hand right over the candle for a few moments. When he pulled it away, the candle looked like it did before. No flame, just sitting there perfectly unchanged.  
  
"That's partly why you aren't burned by it, the lack of intention, and also because you are my mate, the magic is kinda like a third bond or connection we share. It is another part of me that's a part of you. It makes you immune like I'm immune to your alpha bites," he explained then he repeated the same movements with his hand over the wick and this time when Stiles pulled it away while letting the magic shrink back to cover just his hand, the candle was now lit.  
  
"But when I put intention behind the flame, like when we were fighting Zepar, it is capable of destruction. I guess my outburst in the woods was an early manifestation of that," Stiles thought out loud.

"My alpha bite isn't about intent though, it usually has an affect – either it kills you or it changes you. Lydia was immune to the bite in a way, but it activated her banshee powers. The change itself is about intent of the one who got bitten. Like Jackson and Kate, it reflected what they were and mutated. With you..."  
  
It was different. It wasn't that Derek had any control over what his bite did while Stiles had all the control. The magic was proof of that, he was able to use it in a way he wanted it. Though Derek suspected that if he wanted to harm the alpha, it still wouldn't work as intended. Stiles could use his magic to make himself stronger, and could use it to pin Derek. He wasn't immune to the magic, it simply couldn't harm him too badly. Which was a good thing or Stiles would never be able to use healing spells on him either.  
  
Stiles was Aries so his element was fire, Derek was water, it made sense they struggled with all of this. "I'm not immune to your magic, it just can't harm me." Which meant, if they were successful enough in letting him get used to all of this, then they could combine their powers together. If Stiles, somehow, could use Derek as a guide for his magic, using his body to further the reach... they'd be nearly unstoppable if they trained it right.

"I meant the magic makes me immune to your alpha bite, not that the bite is about intent," Stiles clarified. "Otherwise without the magic I probably would've turned into a werewolf or died after the claiming bite you gave me during your rut," he shrugged.  
  
Making a reversed wave with his hand, he made the candle's flame go out and now his arm and hand were fire-free too, so he wrapped both around Derek to snuggle back against him.  
  
"Sure you are not completely immune to my magic either, but because it's a part of me, it recognizes you as a part of it too, so that makes you partially immune to it. And because there's no intention behind to harm you. I guess if there was, it could hurt you. But I wouldn't want to harm you like that in a billion years," he shrugged, burying his face into Derek's neck.  
  
"You did amazing, by the way," he added, caressing Derek's chest with his hand which was previously 'on fire' but now looked as normal as usual. "As I said, I'm very proud of you."

Whenever Stiles shrugged, it was a way for him to let Derek know that he misunderstood, like this little sign his mate unconsciously showed even though he took the time to explain it patiently. There were two shrugs right after one another so the werewolf decided to let it drop. They both knew what it meant now, and what the fire could do. Immunity, allowance... whatever it was didn't matter, it meant Stiles' magic wouldn't hurt Derek and the alpha's bite couldn't turn the human. They could harm one another sure, they could use other ways too but they never had to worry about losing control and that hurting their mate.  
  
The flames were gone, the exercise had gone relatively well, meaning there hadn't been triggers and they had been able to talk while the flames remained active. And he knew if they kept this up and built it up every day, he'd be back to his old self in no time. He loved Stiles so he was determined to love fire too.  
  
Leaning into the hug as Stiles pressed close, Derek sighed. It felt ridiculous to take praise for not freaking out over a small flame, like it was an accomplishment. This wasn't something he was used to. Peter hadn't exactly been the kind of man to not push to be better, to be perfect. Talia had never judged but she hadn't been the type of woman to hold the hands of her kids with every little step they took. Derek was the complete opposite with their daughter and Stiles was the same way as him. Always praising, always building up instead of tearing down. Derek had done enough of that in the past.  
  
"It's not fast enough. They’re watching, they'll know we're healed." He worried for Stiles, for what this Druid Council would think of him, judge him on. If they couldn't even stop one, then there was no way they could stop the entire council.


	2. 18: If You Dare - Part 2

**18: If You Dare – Part 2**

A few days have passed without any incident regarding the other alpha, but the mates didn't let that lull them into a feeling of safety. They stayed on guard, Derek's sentence about them knowing that they are healed coming back to Stiles' always restless mind time after time. His mate was probably right. This time his paranoia might have been more like his instincts alerting him that he was being watched. Because each time he ventured out of the relative safety of the building – mostly with Derek, who disliked the idea of Stiles running around alone when he was the real target here – Stiles did feel being watched. Still, he had to go on with his life to some extent.  
  
But most of the time it was Derek who went out grocery shopping and running errands and dropping by to spend some time with Beth at the Stilinski house. Not that Stiles thought that he was really that much safer in the loft. Yes, he had replaced the protection wards with stronger ones that required some of his blood too because he knew blood magic was one of the strongest kind beside sex and elemental magic.  
  
Still, he didn't feel completely safe. Maybe only in the greenhouse where the shattered glass was quickly replaced.  
  
Occupying his mind with a lot of practice with his magic, helping Derek with the fire and training in hand-to-hand combat with his mate to be prepared as much as they could be were at least good ways to do something and help somewhat suppress that nagging bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.  
  
But that feeling... it kept growing stronger with each day and Stiles didn't like that at all.  
  
It was late afternoon, the shadows stretching on the floor as the sun was hanging lower and lower on the horizon. Stiles was trying to simultaneously cook dinner and dig up more on the Blackwood pack and the Druid Council to have more information to use against the alpha and the Council (if they were truly involved). It still baffled Stiles why they would push them like this. Or was it Zepar going over the top or rouge on their asses?  
  
Yeah, sure, he got it, as a new Spark, he probably had to be tested to see if he wasn't a threat to everyone and everything around him. Stiles wasn't stupid, he knew he was growing stronger with each day and with that Derek too. He often wondered when that would stop – if ever. He also remembered that Derek was tested similarly by the alpha pack too when he first became an alpha. He was powerful back then too because he was a Hale alpha. And damn, a Spark and a Hale alpha had to be like... huge in certain circles... But why not try to like... say hi and come up with less... drastic tests?  
  
He was huffing and puffing about that as he checked on the lasagna he had made and deemed it finished. He switched off the oven and moved to the sink to quickly wash what he used when the wooden spoon from his hand unceremoniously dropped into the sink with a clatter and Stiles had to quickly grab the edge of the counter.  
  
Air suddenly became thin for him, his breaths turned into panicked panting, eyes unfocused and all the color drained from his face as he broke out in cold sweat. That bad feeling in the pit of his churning stomach suddenly seemed to expand inside then exploded all over the place. As Stiles doubled over and slid to the floor with his back against the counter, trying to give enough oxygen to his body and tried to figure out what the fuck was going on, he realized that this wasn't an out of nowhere panic attack. When he had such attacks, they were usually triggered by something.  
  
Then a sharp pain stabbed him right in his middle, making him press his hands against it as he moaned, eyes flickering to amber just when there was a strong thug on the bonds.  
  
" _Oh fuck_... Derek!" he croaked and tried to get onto his feet.  
  
Now he knew what it was. Derek was in trouble. Big trouble...

***

The groceries had been done quickly, Derek wasn't in the mood for them. It was going to be dinner time soon and that meant a lot of people were there to get their meals for the evening. Crowded supermarkets made him cranky because distance wasn't being kept and he couldn't ninja his way around like he usually would.

Something felt off, ever since he had gotten out of his car. It felt as if he was followed. That feeling didn't leave him, and when he was packing up everything into the paper bags, he felt like everybody was watching him in the rows at the registers. Nothing was out of place, nothing screamed at him that it was wrong but it felt wrong. Shaking his head, he chastised himself and thanked the bagboy for helping him. Arms loaded, the wolf put them all in the back of the car, a feeling of lethargy flowing over him. Suddenly he was so incredibly tired.

Blinking, Derek leaned against the car, putting the last bag in, and spotting a rune on the brown bag. Drawn onto it. What...? He never got a chance to take a closer look, whatever spell it was, it took a hold of him quickly, draining away energy, making him feel too out of it to even have emotions about it. As his knees buckled, somebody caught him before he managed to hit the hard pavement. After that, it became all too disjointed.  
  
 _Stretched out on the backseat of the Camaro, a familiar scent filling it but his eyes weren’t able to focus. Even moving a finger took a lot of effort and he felt so… calm. His body fel a lot like when the kanima poison had numbed everything but it wasn’t all the same. Something to make him unable to warn Stiles._

_Long brown hair framed a grinning face But he couldn’t make out the face, couldn’t connect the dots. Large hands were reaching for him. He should flee, he should be alarmed, he should be fighting. Instead he moaned in protest._

_The ground swayed, moving. No, he was moving. Flung like a sack of potatoes over a broad shoulder. He was being carried. The bags… they must have been coated with something. He felt drugged._

_Birds were singing loudly. Green flickered in and out of his sight in a distorted kaleidoscope of light. It smelled like the forest. They were somewhere in the woods. But he didn’t know where they were. Hooded figures, hushed whispers he didn’t understand._

_Something hard underneath him when he was thrown on it. A large surface, familiar scents. But he couldn’t put it all together. What?_

_What was happening?_  
  
What was happening?! His shirt was ripped away, making Derek protest with a growl because nothing good ever came when his shirt was taken. There was chanting? It sounded like something Stiles would chant in his rituals but he was more focused on taking in his surroundings as the fog was clearing. Big and strong hands pushed him down, held him there and by the time his drugged brain had struggled through the haze enough to realize that being held down was also a bad thing and he should start to worry, it was too late. A large curved sword plunged inside, right below in the middle. It sliced, lancing through everything to embed into the surface he was lying on, pinning him there.  
  
Warm blood spilled, running down in rivulets, staining his pants and he weakly tried to get to the sword, too slow due to being spelled. Hands grabbed his wrists and a deep low voice chuckled. Very quickly the air was thick with the scent of his blood as it was spreading around him in a thick pool of red, dripping over the edges of the wood. That chuckle, he knew who that was.  
  
"Zepar…" Derek whispered, coughing as the taste of copper hit the back of his throat.

***

If their plan was to lure Stiles out of the building then it was working because there was no way he was going to stay on his ass when his mate's life was in danger! They were stupid to think these assholes wouldn't try to get to Stiles through Derek. Yes, Stiles seemed to be their main focus, but Derek was the perfect trigger and they should've seen this one coming.  
  
While climbing into the Jeep and trying to put the keys into the ignition with a terribly shaking hand, he was beating himself up hard for letting Derek move around alone. He should've gone with him. Or at least ask for Parrish to go with him!  
  
"FUCK!" Stiles hit the wheel once the engine came to life and he had to take a few deeper breaths, although that was still something he found difficult to do. He had to pull himself together both mentally and physically before venturing out into traffic. He wasn't really fit to drive, he knew that, but each second counted.  
  
"THINK!" he reminded himself. _Jordan_! He should call Jordan... After all, he made them promise to ask for help if something happened and now Stiles might need all the help he can get in finding Derek.  
  
Fumbling with his phone, with how badly his hand was still shaking, it took him a few attempts to unlock the screen and find the deputy's number.  
  
"Stiles," he heard the usual soft and measured tone of their newest pack member.  
  
"Not much time. I need your help. Something happened to Derek. I can... literally feel it in my guts. It's... bad. Really bad," Stiles wheezed through the phone and could nearly see Jordan's expression change from casual to professional.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"I don't..." Stiles started to say that he actually didn't know yet, but right then he cried out from another wave of pain that hit him hard and tugged at something else in him too. That darkness and other connection... "The Nemeton! He's at the Nemeton!" he groaned, leaning back in the seat as he heard the jingling of keys and hurried footsteps from the other end of the line.  
  
"Yes, I could kinda feel that too. Leaving the station right now."  
  
"See you there and thanks," Stiles hung up, tossing the phone on the passenger's seat and he hit the wheel once again before finally pulling out onto the street.  
  
He knew it wasn't easy to find the Nemeton if it didn't want to be found, but Stiles could... always _feel_ it in the back of his mind ever since that connection was established years ago and it only got stronger since his mating to Derek. Plus yes, he was positive he could track Derek down with the help of their bonds which were pulled tied, nearly as if threatening to snap and that... that would mean only one thing Stiles didn't want to think about right now when he tried not to break too many traffic rules in his hurry. He was already too worried about Derek. If he went _there_ with his thoughts, he knew he'd probably lose it and that was something he couldn't afford. Not yet, at least.  
  
It took him an agonizing ten minutes to get close enough with his Jeep. Jordan wasn't there yet, but Stiles didn't care. He was willing to walk into any trap in order to save his mate who was close to death. He could feel it and it made him want to cry but Stiles chose anger instead. The magic was furious and he didn't even attempt to hold it back so it was swirling around him like a huge cloud, moving with him as he exited the Jeep. His eyes were a bright amber as he fought off the panic and pain and started running among the trees.  
  
 _Hang in there, Derek_ , he thought, stumbling only once or twice.  
  
He felt the eyes on him as he ran towards the stump but saw no one. Not even around the Nemeton. But that didn't mean they weren't there. Someone was there, though...  
  
Stiles' glowing eyes widened as he saw the familiar figure lying on his back in a huge pool of his own blood and a friggin' big sword sticking out from his stomach.  
  
"NO!!!!!!! DEREK!" he screamed. The Spark saw red. The magic lurched forward faster than Stiles himself after he had stopped in shock earlier. Now without thinking he was back to running. He sensed the wards and spells and it pissed him off even more, the magical amber cloud doubling in size and turning into fire.  
  
 _No! You can’t hold me back_ , he thought and with a wave of his hand, the magical fire shot forward. It broke and burned itself through the wards and the next moment Stiles was at the stump, fighting with his tears seeing the sickly pale, grayish face. There was half-dried blood in the corner of his barely breathing mate's mouth too.  
  
Stepping into the blood and over the motionless body, the magical fire surrounded the Nemeton protectively and Stiles' shaking hands reached for the sword. "Don't you dare dying on me, Derek! Hear me?!" he shouted. Then he concentrated some of the magic into his hands to aid him and using all of his strength, he pulled the sword out of the werewolf.  
  
Without a care it was tossed to the side and Stiles was already on his knees, pressing a flaming hand onto the bloody wound. "Seal it! Seal the tears everywhere!" he cried out desperately, putting all the healing intentions in his words.

Death had come for Derek many times before. She always had the same face, this pale beautiful face framed by long black hair, standing there serenely, waiting, watching. It was since a short while ago that he had learned that she wasn't Death, she was his reaper and she was around whenever he was close to death. Unfortunately for the both of them, that was more often than not. Sometimes he would be aware of her, sometimes he was too far gone to even see her besides a glimpse. It was never a good sign if he could see her clearly, and right now, he could see her so clearly that he could see himself mirrored in her deep eyes. Oh no.  
  
"I'm not ready to go yet. Stiles... he'd die, I can't..."

She held out both hands. Of course, she was here for Stiles as well. They were too young, they were not ready, it was too soon. Beth, what about Beth? She had godparents, of course she did but that didn't mean she had to be raised by them. She deserved to have her two dads for a while longer!

"Please...." The begged for his reaper. They had been spending a lot of time together. His voice was barely above a whisper, and he knew he wasn't inside his body anymore, the bonds were straining, like a rubber band pulled way too tight, the edges fraying.  
  
 _Hang in there, Derek.  
_  
Like a breeze on the wind, he heard that. Stiles was calling to him, screaming, the rawness tugging at him. Nearly seven months together wasn't enough time as a couple. Not enough time for anything, he wasn't even thirty yet. The dramatics of making a choice, of the whole shock and crying? They were so past that, Derek had been so close to dying too often to even blink at it anymore. It sucked each time though. This time though, the choice was made for him. Almost violently he was sucked back into his body, by his mate no less. Heaving a rough breath, the wolf choked and coughed as the pain slammed into him with full force. His stomach was pulsing with fire and heat. They were surrounded by fire but he knew now where he was: the Nemeton.  
  
"Not again," the wolf protested roughly because he hadn't been kidding when he had told Stiles a while ago that resurrecting people came at a high price. Like him bleeding out on the tree stump. That’s why he didn't want others to know because the other two times it had nearly killed him. Feeding the tree with his blood so often, it was dangerous. Blood magic was not something to be toyed with and yet here he was. Again. Blinking, Derek tried to swallow his blood, but his throat was too dry so it bubbled out, black thick goo. His body was healing itself.  
  
"Stiles..." Shit, he felt so weak, too much blood lost. Covering his mate's hand with his own, he heard Parrish calling out, running towards them and was not even stopped by the circle of flames. Not Jordan then, the hound was back to save the alpha's ass. Again.  
  
The wounds were closed, though it was hard to see with all the blood covering him, all his blood outside of his body. The stump soaked it all up greedily.

Stiles was barely aware of Jordan calling out for them. He was kneeling in the blood – his mate's fuckin' blood! – on the stump, his hand still in flames, pressing against the wound which didn't exist anymore. He knew that. He felt it. Yet he couldn't take his hand away until he heard Derek's weak voice and his hand was touched by a bloody one.  
  
Tears already flowing down on the too pale mole-dotted face, he took a shuddering breath and helped Derek into a half-sitting position so he could lean to the side a bit and puke out the remaining black goo. Which was good! It meant Derek was already healing. The bonds stopped getting tenser too, that crippling pain somewhat eased up in Stiles' guts.  
  
Jordan was there, hovering over them with a tense expression, one hand ready in the air near Derek's back in case his help was needed, but he didn't dare to touch the mates without invitation. He could feel the distress and anger, the protectiveness in the Spark and knew enough not to trigger all that with trying to touch or take away Derek.  
  
"Stiles... we should get going. He needs blood and we are not safe here," he said on his usual calming voice, but it sounded strained as his eyes searched their surroundings then looked back down at the mates.  
  
The Spark nodded but couldn't move. He wiped most of the black goo off Derek's pale face, though there was so much blood it didn't really matter. "It's okay, my love. It'll be alright. You just stay with me..." he whispered through his tears and nodded to Parrish again, who only waited for that to steady the alpha's back and reached under his knees before lifting him up and started carrying him towards the police cruiser parked not far from there.  
  
Stiles knew what the blood on the stump meant. Someone was going to come back from the dead again... He had no idea who, but it was bound to happen sooner or later and that just pissed him off more. Then he felt it. The strong pulse of power rushing through the clearing. It came from under him and knocked Stiles back onto his hands and knees in the blood, gasping for air.  
  
Even the deputy looked back with worry, his eyes the bright yellow of the hellhound from that energy wave. No wonder, he was connected to the Nemeton too so he felt it clearly as well. How the magical tree's strength was intensifying from the new sacrifice. And having an unstable Spark in literally the center of it all was definitely not a good idea. He saw and felt how that energy started triggering Stiles' powers too, making his hair and bloody clothes move as if there was a whirlwind around the panting figure.  
  
Oh yes, Stiles could feel it too... All that power beneath his palms. Pulsing, enticing him, feeding his anger, and nearly begging to be used, to be unleashed. It was _so_ tempting! The ring of fire grew double in size, pulsing with the Nemeton, the flames getting brighter and faster, now burning a perfect circle into the ground around the tree stump.  
  
It would've been so easy to give in...  
  
Stiles didn't know when he moved but he found himself standing on top of the blood-soaked stump, his eyes and veins just as bright as the fire around them. Feeling so much power coursing trough him was… _intoxicating_!  
  
~~~  
  
"Should we strike, sir?"  
  
"No. He'd kill us in an instant. We're here to observe today," Zepar briefly shook his head as they were standing in the shadows further in a circle around the clearing, hidden by wards. But he was positive that if they went closer, right now the Spark would see them despite the Leader's powerful spells. After all, they all watched the outraged Spark cut through them with very little effort. Yet the alpha didn't order the hooded figures to lower their bows and weapons just yet.  
  
He wished the Leader could've seen this in person, though. They have been waiting for this moment for quite a while and everything depended on what the Spark was going to do next...  
  
~~~  
  
"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY MATE LIKE THAT?!" Stiles' voice boomed through the clearing. There was an echoing, magic-filled undertone to it. "I know you are in the shadows! _I can feel you lurking!_ COWARDS! You're going to regret this so bad!" he shouted, trembling from anger and magic.  
  
"Stiles... We don't have time for this! Derek..." Jordan shouted at the raging Spark and it seemed to work because the younger man's glowing eyes fell on him and the pale werewolf in his arms. "We have to get him help. _Now_!" the deputy pressed.  
  
After a few moments Stiles finally nodded, curling his flaming hands into fists as he took a shuddering breath while concentrating. He wanted to stay. To tap into and harness all that power and kill all these motherfuckers. He wanted that _so badly_! But his mate needed him!  
  
As the whirlwind-like power somewhat calmed down around him, he raised his voice again. "I'll kill you all! If you want war, you'll get it for this! Come and face me some time soon you assholes... _if you dare_!" he sneered then forced himself to move away from the source of that dark ancient and pulsing energy. It wasn't easy, but Derek was more important!  
  
The fire circle died down as he hurried to join Jordan, his guards up, hands still flaming in case of an attack on their way to the cruiser and his Jeep.  
  
"Put him on the Jeep's backseat. I'll wash the seats later," he instructed, knowing that explaining why a police cruiser's backseat was drenched in blood and no reports about how it got like that was not the best idea to keep their cover. "Follow me to Deaton's and call him we are on our way. Let's hurry!" he said while jogging next to Jordan, glimpsing at the still too grey and motionless love of his life in the deputy's arms.  
  
They are going to pay for this...

Derek was mostly unaware of it all, missing the near scare they had with Stiles' temptation to give into the Nemeton's draw. It was an understandable want to give into, to have so much power right at the fingertips, enough to level the threat in one glance. But it would also level the forest and all the animals in it. It might kill a few innocent bystanders as well in the thirst for vengeance. The Nemeton wouldn't stop there, if Stiles was going to channel its power, they might have another Darach on their hands, worse than Jennifer had been.  
  
The wolf was quiet in the arms of the hound, taking a shuddering breath and going limp. That's when the hellhound called out to Stiles that they didn't have time for this. There wasn't enough blood in his body to keep him going for long. The heartbeat was weak and he was barely breathing but he was alive and that was all that really mattered for now. Jordan carefully placed his precious cargo in the backseat, adjusting the form so he wouldn't roll off during the drive. Blood immediately stained the seats, it was starting to coagulate, leaving a sticky red liquid covering Derek and whatever he touched. Stiles and Parrish were covered in it as if they had been the ones bleeding out.  
  
"I'll drive ahead with the sirens on, there's not much time." The man assessed the frantically raging Spark, doubting he was capable of driving but he hadn't been on the way here either. It was a risk they were going to have to take, arguing about it would cost precious time the alpha didn't have.

Closing the door, Parrish got to the patrol car, flipping on lights and sirens as he waited for bluetooth to connect with his phone. It was still light out, but it was dinner time so with some luck, there wouldn't be too many people out on the streets. The car sped off.  
  
There was no stirring from the backseat, no grumpy bitching about terrible driving skills, only the stuttering rasping breaths as he fought to stay with Stiles. Derek was too stubborn to give up so easily, he hadn't survived Hell to die because of a stupid sword. He had a family to take care of and a score to settle with Lucifer himself. Thanks to Stiles' magic and Derek's sheer will, his body was still functioning when it should have given into the pull of death even before he was rescued from the Nemeton. Maybe that's what the Council had counted on, for Stiles to go above and beyond to save his mate, or they would have stepped in to prevent his death? Whatever the meaning of this test was, it was getting dangerous for Derek to be mated to Stiles, being the trigger to get the Spark to react.  
  
A few rasping breaths later, the alpha exhaled loudly. And then... nothing.

  
_[Click for the gif](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/b0276b76-4182-455a-abee-f06f5760e88c/de6a0ud-d9c60285-a254-4a2b-9680-f3c401bce5c4.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYjAyNzZiNzYtNDE4Mi00NTVhLWFiZWUtZjA2ZjU3NjBlODhjXC9kZTZhMHVkLWQ5YzYwMjg1LWEyNTQtNGEyYi05NjgwLWYzYzQwMWJjZTVjNC5naWYifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.2-0DYVSXVxql2QB9ZIm5FvxpJh-7tb9dJO0modbH0Zc) _

Stiles was trying to take deep shuddering breaths to calm down and not let the panic grip his chest harder than it already was. He had to concentrate on following Parrish through the streets. He patted himself in the shoulder for the brilliant idea to call him before he left for the Nemeton because having a police car leading the way did save them precious time.  
  
His attention was divided between the driving and monitoring Derek through the rear-view mirror which he had adjusted to Derek's form the second he jumped behind the wheel. He didn't care about the blood on the seats or the wheel. All he cared about was the quiet sounds of the rattling breaths Derek was drawing into his lungs. And then... Stiles couldn't hear it anymore and his bloody hand nearly slipped on the wheel, vision starting to narrow as he was gasping for air, panic choking him.

  
[ _Click for the gif_ ](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/b0276b76-4182-455a-abee-f06f5760e88c/de69qgh-26cf0e7f-57fe-48d2-89c9-112de0d42a16.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYjAyNzZiNzYtNDE4Mi00NTVhLWFiZWUtZjA2ZjU3NjBlODhjXC9kZTY5cWdoLTI2Y2YwZTdmLTU3ZmUtNDhkMi04OWM5LTExMmRlMGQ0MmExNi5naWYifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.-tjk5QZYTTBF6XdEoTd-F4y9rQKpvrp4OtPng5rtyk4)

"Nononononono! Derek! DEREK! We're nearly there! Stay with me, _goddammit_!" he shouted, stepping more on the gas pedal, knowing that Parrish would pick up the pace in front of him.  
  
In a minute or so the tires screeched on the asphalt as he hit the breaks half-blind from the returning pain. He wanted to puke and faint at the same time, his magic all over the place.  
  
"Think... he's not breathing..." he managed to wheeze out to Jordan and Deaton who were already opening the back door while Stiles unceremoniously nearly fell flat on his face as he tried to get out of the Jeep.  
  
"No pulse," Deaton confirmed just when another wave of the painful strain on the bonds burned through Stiles.  
  
"Hold him... up! Quick!" Stiles grunted and the two men did, both holding a limp arm around their shoulders once Derek was out of the car. One hand holding onto the side of the Jeep, the other got covered in flames as Stiles took a step closer. "Come on, Derek! Stay with me!" Stiles groaned and pressed his burning hand over his mate's still heart, pushing a wave of magic inside in an attempt to restart it. "Derek? Derek!" he shouted as he repeated it, his legs starting to seriously shake and threatened to give out under him. "DEREK!"

There was no beautiful resurrection like it would happen in the movies. Derek didn't blink his eyes and inhale sharply to come back to life, nothing happened at all while the flaming hand pressed against his chest until Deaton pressed his fingers against his neck again.  
  
"He's got a weak pulse, let's get him inside. Stiles, it's safer inside." The druid couldn't afford making sure the mourning young man followed, if they didn't get Derek stabilized, they were going to lose both before the day was fully over. The two carried Derek into the back, onto the metal table where many werewolves had been bleeding out all over. Deaton's main patients have always been werewolves and they didn't exactly get him any income.

Parrish lifted Derek onto the table as the vet walked over to the fridge to retrieve a blood bag. "Since Derek has the unfortunate habit of bleeding out, I made him donate his blood, seems I was right to do so."  
  
Pumping a werewolf full of human blood wouldn't harm but it wouldn't exactly do much good either, it only bought time for healing to kick in. Getting werewolf blood in would jump start the healing since the problem here was the lack of blood.

"Veins have collapsed," he frowned as he palpitated the skin to look for one. "I want to bet there's not a drop of blood left in him, and the magic is the only thing keeping the body going. It will give out again." Deaton warned as he looked at the human who had joined them, Parrish steering Stiles to a chair before he'd fall down. "I have enough bags to get enough blood in him for his healing to make the rest, it's a matter of getting it inside him quick enough."  
  
Quick and expert hands cut into the werewolf's skin to get a shunt in, not bothering with the useless veins to hook up the blood to the shunt which was pressed into a major artery. He made sure the bag was set to be wide open, getting it inside the body fast was most important. Derek's body would deal with possible blood cloths and air bubbles on its own, it wasn't dangerous to him, only inconvenient.

"Help me undress him." Deaton ordered to the deputy who nodded, helping with shaking hands, betraying that it was Jordan this time and not the hellhound. Runied shoes and pants were pulled off quickly, dropping to the floor in a wet squelch. Even the socks were red-stained.

Deaton started running his hands over the grayish skin with a frown when the color didn't improve despite the blood reaching the heart by now.  
  
"What are you looking for, doc? Stiles healed the wound."  
  
"It's not a wound I'm looking for, Deputy."  
  
Jordan hovered close by, frowning as he watched the vet look even in uncomfortable places such as the inside of the thighs, unsure if he should stop him before this would get awkward for all of them. Luckily Deaton uncovered what he was searching for, a small mark on the hip, hidden by the underwear, carved into the skin. A rune.  
  
"As I thought. Derek isn't going to heal with this mark on him. Stiles... if you please. Mr. Parrish, can you try to get some blood bags from the hospital with Melissa? I don't have enough werewolf blood for this, the bag that's going in now won't work." A precious amount lost thanks to the rune. "Blood type doesn't matter since Derek doesn't have a human blood type. We just need to get as much blood in him as possible, this spell poisoned his system, we have to flush it out."

"I'll be back as fast as possible," Parrish nodded and was already on his way out, phone pressed to his ear to call Melissa.

Stiles didn't even made any attempts to pull his magic back or subdue the pain that was still throbbing in him. He wiped at his wet face time after time, unable to stop the silent tears as he was just sitting there, his insides feeling like imploding. All he could do was watch and focus on his breathing. Derek came back the second time to him, but his life was balancing on a thin line.  
  
Instead of the panic and despite the pain, he just felt... numb as he kept staring at his naked mate laid out on the examination table. Like in a morgue. A way too familiar picture of Derek Hale, to be honest. And if they survive this... he knew it wasn't going to be the last time either. People seemed to like impaling Derek - and that right there nearly made a hysterical laugh bubble up from Stiles, but it would've sounded so wrong.  
  
He wasn't even surprised by the rune – it made sense now why Derek wasn't getting better.  
  
Stiles shuffled over to the table, staring at the rune. There was a flicker of anger that attempted to break through the numbness, but he let it go and began focusing some of the still swirling magic. "I just break it?" he whispered hoarsely, his breathing still a bit irregular, just like his heartbeat.  
  
"Yes. It'll stop holding back the healing that can be done with this blood bag. Hopefully it'll stabilize Derek long enough for Parrish to get back here with the rest of the blood.”  
  
Stiles simply nodded. No extra questions. He just reached out with a trembling hand and placed it over the rune. The magic lit up his veins and then took the form of the by now familiar flames.  
  
"Break and heal!" he said on a firm voice, intent and command thick in his voice.  
  
The vet was watching curiously and then nodded pleased when the next moment there was a strange sizzling noise and a shift in the air around the grey-ish body. "Very good, Stiles."  
  
The Spark simply nodded then watched as his fiery magic healed the skin. Running his fingers along the unblemished skin, he stopped his concentration and let the magic slink back a bit. A bitter sigh left his dry lips as he pulled a stool next to the table and took Derek's limp hand between both of his.  
  
"This is why I wanted to get rid of the magic. I won't, though. I've promised that to myself and Derek. But it comes with a hefty price as we can see... The Nemeton is already stronger thanks to the fresh sacrifice. And someone will come back again," he said on a monotone voice, staring at Derek's sickly pale face.

"Being a supernatural comes with a price always, as does magic. You know this." Deaton's voice was kind as he filled a bucket of water and added some herbs to freshen up the air, starting on getting some of the blood cleaned away. It was mostly done for Stiles, so he didn't have to look at his mate so covered in red, though one had to wonder if it wasn't making it worse to uncover more pale flesh as he scrubbed the Hale's face clean. There were dark blue bruises under his eyes, and he looked more dead than alive at the moment. Deaton checked the wolf's temperature but he was freezing cold.  
  
"Last time it took some days for the resurrected to appear alive. Let’s hope it'll be a little while longer this time. This was a very clever test, and one that shows they have heard about Derek's link to the Nemeton. Dead ones showing up alive will not be good. I don't think the Council will let him live, because necromancy is strictly forbidden." For good reasons but in this case it wasn't something done on purpose. Derek's blood powered the tree and in turn for the sacrifice, somebody was given back, a life for a life, not once had the werewolf done this on purpose and therefor shouldn't be judged for it. Alan had never reported it for that very reason.  
  
The dark-skinned man didn't clean the hair, because that was such a mess only a shower would take care of it. Instead he cleaned the skin around the shunt so he could tape it in place.

"They used Derek's life to feed the Nemeton and to feed your Spark's chaos, seeing if you would be tempted to use magic not your own, turn into a darach to get your revenge. It was why he had to die. You passed." There were not going to be many tests, they had already done the worse they could do to this young man, and Alan regretted it came to extreme measures even though he had nothing to do with it. He still felt partly responsible.  
  
"We have to make sure they don't know somebody climbed out of their grave or they will be coming for you both." The man got two blankets, draping one over Stiles and the other over Derek as he checked his vitals. They were no longer worsening.  
  
"Ah good, the veins are recovering, I'll get some warm saline in his body. How does the bond feel?"

"Clever, huh?" Stiles scoffed, anger flickering in his still slightly glowing eyes, his lips curling into an unsettling half-smile. "Oh I wanted to get revenge. I could feel them around. They were watching us, alright. I was so very close to giving in to fuck them up, but..." he paused, lightly squeezing his mate's hand and adjusted the blanket around his own body "... Derek will always be more important to me. He is my mate, my other half. Without him I'm nothing..." he whispered, watching the now cleaner but just as pale face. Even now he was beautiful for Stiles.  
  
And for a moment... he wondered what would've happened if Jordan didn't snap him out of it. Would have he finally given in to the pull? Would have he become a mass-murderer? Someone who deserves to be hunted down?  
  
"I hate them with a passion and their stupid tests!" Stiles looked up into the vet's brown eyes, noticing the apologetic look. "They are cruel tests. We did nothing wrong. I only had one accident and it was in a secluded place in the woods. And it's not as if Derek chose to do necromancy. Not once! Those were either accidents or forced on him. Like today. And I hate them even more for doing that to my mate who had suffered more than enough for three lifetimes!" he said fast as fresh tears ran down on his face. He looked only a tiny bit better than Derek. He mirrored the dark circles and the paleness and somehow his face looked thinner, cheek bones sharper. Stiles was far from weak in any meaning, but now there was a kind of frailness to him, he looked nearly transparent.  
  
He sighed a bit relieved though that Derek was getting a bit better. "The bonds are... still strained, ragged at the edges since they nearly snapped twice today. They are throbbing and hurting... they feel kinda... 'dried out'? Don't know if that makes any sense. But at least the sharp excruciating pain has withdrawn for now."

There were no words to make up for any of it, Deaton wasn't going to sully the tentative friendship with emptiness which had very little meaning. The tests were cruel for a reason, designed for optimal results but that didn't make it right, nor was he fully on board with any of it. Much like the alpha pack, the Council's way to test lacked any kind of communication and threw the unwilling participants into the deep end for no apparent reason.

"You're powerful, and unfortunately history has proven that powerful people are too easily corrupted when pushed too far. Like Julia Baccari."  
  
The two looked on the brink of full collapse and there wasn't much Deaton could do against that. The weight loss, the injuries and stress, it was leaving behind a lot of evidence in the two young males. They were wasting away, and enough was enough. For a long time Alan had been angry with Derek for making him lose his alpha, for being stupid enough to fall for an Argent ploy like that. In one fell swoop, so many lives and potential lost. Derek may have had grown up physically but mentally he had a lot of growing to do when he had returned to Beacon Hills and Alan hadn't been welcoming. Over time though, he had seen time after time how Derek had sacrificed himself and given himself up for others. It had made Deaton see him differently. Too much damage had been done between them though. Still Deaton helped.  
  
"He is still too close to death for the bonds to settle. He has died, it's all far too frail at the moment. Once he's stronger, some intimacy will help." The warm saline was flowing into the still body and it was best, as soon as the blood was inside Derek, that they were made comfortable. Sleep, food and healing was needed. "It will take some time for the blood transfusion to work." Once there was blood to give that was. "After that, he'll be fine. He's in healing sleep at the moment so he's not going to wake up."

"The funniest thing is that... there are moments when I can kinda understand her motives now. I never did before I was mated to Derek. And I will never approve of her methods, of course. But yeah... she used to be in love and had lost everything because of power. Then she sought out power to get her revenge. And I know how very tempting a Nemeton can be. So a part of me... _that_ dark part... can see now why she gave in..." Stiles lifted his free hand to rub it over his forehead in a tired gesture.

"All that power... it's intoxicating, especially without an anchor. She had lost that too with Kali's betrayal. I can't lose Derek for this exact reason. I don't want to give in like her. I don't want to be consumed by revenge and anger and the darkness. I'm... yeah, I want to kill them all for hurting us this much, for their games, for nearly killing my mate who's still so close to death I can nearly see his lurking reaper and how dim his soul is at the moment. How the walls in his head has a few cracks now because of dying then coming back... How fragile our bonds are at the moment. And all of that... it's slowly killing me. I want to help, but I don't know how..." he said hoarsely, by then rubbing at his eyes before looking up at Deaton.  
  
He'd never seen him so understanding and sympathetic, which was scary in itself.  
  
"I'm terrified, Alan..." he whispered, probably calling Deaton on his first name for the first time in his life. "Of losing him. Of losing against the darkness if that happens. If it ever happens... I need you to promise me like Derek did that you're going to stop me before I can hurt any innocent lives." He knew he was asking for a lot after all the help they've been getting from the druid during the years, but Stiles had to have such safety plans. Obviously, if Derek died, he couldn't do it before Stiles following him, and his dad would never be able to kill him. Neither would Scott or Jordan... or probably anyone from the pack. Maybe Chris. Derek had a similar pact with the hunter in case he went feral.  
  
The vet stared into Stiles' pleading amber eyes for the longest time. It made the younger druid start to think that he was going to refuse it. But in the end he simply nodded with a bitter sigh.  
  
"Thank you," Stiles visibly relaxed somewhat – a clear sign that he needed to badly hear this.  
  
"I hope it won't come to that, though."  
  
"I hope so too..." he averted his eyes and took a few deep breaths, offering his arm. "Take some of my blood and give it to Derek if it might help him until Jordan gets back with the blood bags. Mine is human enough I guess, even if it's fused with magic. That might actually help him, no? It's part of him too..." he reasoned with a hopeful look.

"Stiles, you barely look better than Derek does right now. Taking your blood will do more harm than good," Deaton shook his head, he was determined to keep at least one half of the couple strong even though the werewolf could use the blood. The bag was rapidly emptying but the blood in the fridge was meant for animals and unlike popular opinions, werewolves were not closely related to dogs. It might work if Derek was in his wolf form but that wasn't going to help them now.  
  
Time ticked away, both bags of fluids emptied so he replaced the saline one, as he checked Derek's vitals. He didn't say it but he was worried, Stiles wouldn't die right away if Derek did. He would certainly snap though, it's why he asked to be stopped, the younger man knew he'd go dark. And the more years passed, the longer one of the couple was able to live without the other. Which meant more time to do damage. The pulse under his fingers was slowing, the body getting colder.  
  
"I guess we don't have time to wait longer, I will have to take some of yours. So if you could..."  
  
"We're here!" Parrish shouted from the door as he came running into the backroom with Melissa in tow, the nurse holding a cooler filled with blood. "I'm sorry it took so long, we had to get Doctor Dunbar's signature. How is he doing?" Melissa didn't hide her worry, she looked visibly shaken to see Derek like that. Her hands gently leaned on Stiles' thin shoulders, because she was here for both of them.  
  
"Not good. We need to get his temperature up. The warm saline isn't working as well as I hoped. Can you hook up the blood? I'll get some heated blankets and hot water bottles. Stiles, be ready in case his heart gives out."

There was a flurry of movements as they all rushed to make sure the still figure on the table wouldn't die on them again. Warm blankets piled up, hot water bottles placed all around him along with the wrap used for hypothermia Melissa made Parrish get from the first aid kit in the police car. Bags of blood were hanging, along with a bag of saline. It was all they could do. For a while they all stared, waiting for it to get worse, but it never did. Slowly Derek's color went from deathly grey to sickly pale and his heartbeat had gotten stronger in a steady beat.  
  
Melissa had stayed with Stiles, holding the hand he wasn't using to cling to his mate. "Stiles, honey? He's out of the woods now, he'll be okay."

Stiles was just sitting there by Derek's head, refusing to let go of his hand while everything became a blur around him. He let the others do whatever was needed to keep his mate alive. The touch of Mrs. McCall's warm motherly hands lingered on Stiles' shoulders and then her hand in his was also a welcomed gesture, even if Stiles' eyes were fixed on Derek's face and the rise and fall of his chest under all the blankets and wrap. He strained his ears to listen to the faint beating of the heart and was grateful that his senses were somewhat enhanced by their mating, because he could tell after a while that they were right.  
  
Still, those agonizingly long minutes until they got there were measured for Stiles by his mate's heartbeats. That's all he could hear while holding onto the cool hand under all the layers. It was scary in itself because it was always Derek who was warmer than Stiles. It felt so wrong that now it was in reverse!  
  
The lines of worry were deeply etched into the Spark's pale face and he sighed a bit more relieved when Melissa's words finally made sense in his otherwise blank mind. In response he lightly squeezed her hand.  
  
"Thank you. Thank you all. So much..." he pressed his burning eyes shut for a long moment and he only opened them when he felt and saw the oozing magic start to float and concentrate towards his arm half-way under the blankets, using his and Derek's connected hand to slowly seep into the pale skin, giving some warmth back to it.  
  
 _I’m here, Derek. I’m with you._

"You can thank us by not scaring us like that again," she hugged him close even though Stiles barely reacted to everything else. Worriedly, she raked her hand through his hair as she looked over at Jordan and Deaton, deciding the two boys weren't going to be much help making decisions, Derek wasn't, he was too busy playing sleeping beauty. "I don't think metal tables are the best place for them to sleep. I'll take them to my house. Chris has been playing nurse to them often enough to know the drill by now." Not that they were living together but the older hunter was at her house more than at his own apartment so they might as well be.  
  
The sleeping beauty in question wasn't aware of much, it was never going to be a memory. He wasn't even aware where he was, because he was too deeply sunken into unconsciousness to have some kind of an awareness. But Stiles managed to reach him even there. His bright soul was a dim light, the wall, his body and his soul had taken damage, all things that could be repaired, mostly. The cracks in the wall were there, they were too small to let anything through and were going to hold unless Derek planned to die a few more times and undo all that hard work. The dim light reacted to the soft words used through their bonds.  
  
 _I’m so tired.  
_  
It was barely a whisper, a flicker of something, however it was more than the cold nothingness from before. The Hale attempted to move, to maybe tighten his hold on the hand holding his, but it was of no use. Too weak for now to get a bodily reaction. _I’m here now too_. Subconsciously he knew something bad had happened, his mate was feeling so worried, so scared and angry. A finger twitched. Derek was there again.  
  
"Okay honey, up you go. Jordan's going to carry Derek and we're going to continue with the transfusion when you two are in a normal bed after a warm bath for the cold wolf." She leaned closer to cup a pale cheek, making Stiles look at her. "Can you walk?" She was not above giving Stiles something to make him sleep once they were settled in, because he looked ready to drop.  
  
"Oh no, you're not going to object, I'm tired of these two doing it all alone because they think that's better and they're not going to spend the night here. So you are going to help me get them in the car."

That was said to Deaton who closed his mouth when he was about to speak and wisely nodded. "Of course."

It was no wonder neither of the other two men dared to object. Melissa McCall was a force to be reckoned with. Getting on her bad side was not a health insurance to anyone.  
  
It kinda amused Stiles, but he wasn't really paying attention to that now because he was too busy letting fresh tears fall because he heard it. He heard Derek's soul answer him and there was a finger-twitch in his hand. Maybe just a nerve, but he wanted to believe it was Derek signaling him physically too what he felt from his soul. And it was... it warmed the coldness in Stiles a bit.  
  
"I think I can walk," he finally answered Melissa's question, who nodded satisfied yet still worried. Stiles hated to see that familiar expression on her face. He had seen it countless of times during the years when he was practically growing up at the McCall house – his second home, really. And she was like a second mom for Stiles just as much as he was a second son to the nurse. And Stiles hated making her worried because of him again. He wanted that expression to vanish, to reassure her that all will be fine... that he will be fine, but he didn't have the strength yet. Not until Derek woke up and said something and Stiles knew he was going to be okay.  
  
He finally let the big hand go and allowed Jordan to carry Derek again, Melissa and Deaton packing everything up they would need in the McCall house. Melissa stayed next to him in case he needed to lean on someone, but Stiles managed to follow the others on his own feet.  
  
It didn't take long for them to persuade Stiles to leave the Jeep there and climb onto Melissa's backseat so he could hold the unconscious man’s head on his lap, trembling fingers raking through and caressing the bloody dark hair over and over again, his eyes never leaving the beloved face – which indeed looked a tiny bit better.  
  
Derek was there with him too.

It was a musical of cars at this point: Stiles' Jeep at Deaton's, Jordan following in the patrol car again behind Melissa's and Derek's car was missing in action. It was par for the course, the cars usually suffered as much as the owners did over the years. Derek's jeep had been wrecked, the second Camaro had been wrecked as well by the ex and the first Camaro had many bullet holes repaired. It was a surprise the cars had lasted this long in the first place.  
  
Derek was still an unmoving form, undergoing all the relocating without even noticing it. He would have hated all the fussing, for others to see him like this even though it was a familiar sight by now. Pretty much everybody in town had seen him out cold at least once – or naked. Never helping his reputation, though many knew what he was thanks to the massive werewolf hunt of Monroe and Gerard a few years back. A well-kept secret in town, because they were well aware what the werewolves have done to protect it all this time.

"I think once Derek's better, we should involve a few more of the staff at the hospital. One doctor and a nurse isn't enough to keep up with you guys," Melissa spoke up to break through the silence. "Then we can use machines to prolong a life without worrying about magical healing or werewolf DNA being discovered. Just think about it," ahe said as they arrived at the McCall house, Jordan already there to help Derek be moved to give him a quick hot bath while Melissa made the bed in Scott's old room so the two could rest there. Some of Scott's old clothes got spread out, IV pole for the blood bags ready to be used.

"Oh wait, I better get some of Chris' things. I forgot how tall you got." Freshly washed for the sensitive noses. "Once Derek is in bed, you should take a quick shower, Stiles, you're covered in blood, kiddo."  
  
"Little help?" Jordan was there with a very naked Derek who was clean now, leaving behind red water in the tub. Melissa dried him off once he was on the bed and dressed the werewolf in warm clothes, eyeing him and then the urine bag she had also brought. How long was he out cold? No way of telling. She quickly assessed the bladder by pressing around it, which was empty. "Oh thank god. I was not looking forward to giving Derek Hale a catheter."  
  
"With how much we've seen of him and touched him, I doubt he'd mind," Jordan offered, making Melissa laugh softly because that was very true. She connected the blood to the shunt, it was still there for easy access after all and tucked him under the covers. One patient done, one left.  
  
"Stiles?"

Stiles was just standing there in a haze, watching the other two fuss around and handle bathing Derek. He felt frozen, detached from his own body and mind. Maybe it was because of the bonds or what he felt from Derek, or the shock was starting to come out now that they were out of immediate danger. Now that Derek was out of immediate danger of dying... He didn't know, but it was like watching a movie on the screen, not really part of it. That detachment and numbness felt strange. He wanted to help, but he couldn't will his legs or hands to move and he also didn't want to get blood everywhere.  
  
He wanted to tell Melissa that he was going to think about the involving more doctors and staff thing, but aside from a nod, no words came from Stiles. Not even once Derek was clean and dressed and in bed, the blood flowing into his veins again. Stiles just kept staring at him, wanting to go over and hold his mate's hand again, to nuzzle to him, but he was covered in his blood. It soaked into his clothes and skin and it will take time to get it out from under his nails.  
  
 _Derek’s blood_ , he thought. He was covered in Derek's blood.  
  
He had nearly lost his mate. Again...  
  
Panic gripped his insides again and he had to make some strangled noise, because the next moment Melissa was right in front of him, gently grabbing Stiles' wrists as he was staring at his bloody hands, the amber eyes welling up.  
  
"Sweetie, hey... Stiles, look at me and breathe with me. In and out. In and out," she took deep breaths, waiting until he picked up that pace, drawing in shaky breaths. "He's going to be fine, Stiles. I promise. His vitals are strong and the healing kicked in. He is getting the blood he needs. You have to focus on yourself now," she said on her soothing motherly voice and the professional she was, she was already gently but firmly steering Stiles back into the bathroom.  
  
The brunette man moved along without objections and let her peel the bloody and ruined clothes off. He didn't care that he was butt naked in the middle of the bathroom. She had seen him like that quite a few times while growing up.  
  
Melissa's eyes caught on the tattoos on Stiles' chest and back – they were new to her since Stiles didn't really flaunt them. "Stiles, talk to me. Can you take a shower on your own?" she asked and he glimpsed at the by then empty tub, some red still lingering at the bottom. Snapping fingers in front of his face drew his wandering attention. Maybe the magic burned through his Aderrall faster than usual too.  
  
"Yeah... yeah, I think so," he finally murmured hoarsely and climbed into the tub.

Melissa wasn't going anywhere, she kept a close eye on Stiles since she didn't trust him not to slip and fall or fall asleep in the water and drown himself. Or he'd sit there and not do anything, like now. It was the shock of everything that happened and she knew it was understandable so without needing prompting, she helped. She hadn't washed him like this since he was little and she gently washed away the blood as the gentle murmurs of Jordan talking to somebody in the background sounded. Probably Noah who had no doubt been worried sick, yet again. At this rate, the two were never going to take Beth back and that worried her. They all deserved some normalcy soon.  
  
After fifteen minutes, Stiles was clean and the blood was running down the drain as Melissa dried Stiles' hair and helped him up to find clothes handed to her by Jordan.

"Can you help him dress? I'm going to get him something to drink."

By the time she returned with two tablets and a glass of juice, the young man was in bed next to Derek who was starting to look better than the one who hadn't bled out.  
  
"Here, take these, they'll help you sleep because that's what you need right now." She put the pills in Stiles' hand and gave him the glass of juice. She had a feeling that Stiles would be staring at Derek non-stop otherwise, to make sure he was still breathing and alive. "I'm staying and I'll look over you both. It's okay, honey. Get some rest."

Stiles moved his hand automatically to accept the pills and glass of juice. Just like he moved around during and after the shower like that too. But at least he wasn't panicking anymore, even if his tired and burning eyes (now back to their normal whiskey-brown) were a bit too wide for Melissa's liking.  
  
"Thank you... Both of you. I'm sorry for all the mess," he whispered hoarsely and swallowed the pills with some of the juice, but the glass was guided back to his mouth by Melissa, a signal to drink it all. And he did with measured sips.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Jordan said on his soothing 'it's alright' cop voice, leaning against the door frame. "I updated your dad. He'll stop by tomorrow to put some of his worries to rest. He wanted to come now, but I persuaded him not to."  
  
"Thanks, Jordan..." Stiles kinda repeated himself. "You're a good man," he added as Melissa took the empty glass from his hand and tucked him in like when he was sick as a kid and Noah had to work. He even got a warm hand stroking along his forehead and still damp but clean hair. Like his mom used to do. The past and the presence blurred together for a moment and he sighed, burning eyelids already getting heavy. They jerked open though when he saw a flash of Derek bleeding onto the Nemeton, pinned to it by that fucking sword.  
  
The hand was back with the gentle caresses as Stiles nuzzled closer to Derek under the warm blanket.  
  
"Rest, Stiles. You're both safe now..." she said and Jordan nodded. He had permission from the Sheriff himself to stick around too and keep an eye on the alpha pair of his pack and to guard them while they rested and healed.  
  
"Are we really?" That was the last thing Stiles asked barely above a whisper before his exhausted body finally relaxed, the oozing magic covering them both while sleep dragged him down into the darkness.


	3. 18: If You Dare – Part 3

**18: If You Dare – Part 3**

Blinking a few times, Derek woke up to feeling like he had been run over, twice. And then backed into a couple of times. Groggily attempting to stir, he had no idea where he even was, it smelled different, it wasn't the loft. It smelled like Sitles but also Argent and Melissa so there was a lot of confusion at the moment. Three heartbeats in the house, two what he assumed were downstairs, one right next to him and that got his attention. He dared to peek sideways, right into wide whiskey-brown eyes.  
  
Stiles. That was good. That was normal. Stretching, he tested limbs. All was working but it felt like he had been asleep for like a week, deeply asleep so maybe healing sleep? That made him blink some more, discovering an IV pole next to the bed, plastic tubing going from it to him, needle in his hand with saline and there was something in his neck too. Touching it, he discovered another needle, sort of, it felt different and was stuck deeper inside.  
  
"Wh...." His mouth was dry and he cleared his throat. "What happened?" There were some disjointed memories, not even sure if that had been dreams or memories although as he asked what happened, more was coming back. Stupidly he quickly checked under the sheets, at his stomach where he thought a sword had been? But he didn't know why he thought that. He could put a few things together. The saline drip was something he had gotten when he had lost a lot of blood and his body felt like it had died, again. The sword had been real?  
  
Stiles looked pale so he quickly reached out. "Are you hurt?!"

There was a shuddering, relieved breath escaping Stiles as he took Derek's hand to squeeze that hand. It felt much warmer than last night and that eased up some of the human's lingering worries. Letting it go, he half-turned on the bed to get a glass of water from the nightstand and offer it to Derek to drink slowly while he explained things.  
  
"I'll be fine. I'm just a bit exhausted. Had to use a lot of magic last night," he shrugged it off (as usual). "But you are much better! Thank fuck..." he sighed again and murmured a silent prayer to the Universe or the powers above. "Those fuckers kidnapped you and took you to the Nemeton to stab you in the stomach with a sword and bleed you out on it. Jordan and I found you and took you to Deaton who helped keep you alive until Parrish and Melissa brought blood. Once you were stable, we came to the McCall house so they can keep an eye on us," Stiles summed it up.  
  
"It was bad... I had nearly lost you for real this time..." he whispered, stroking Derek's chest through the cover then it curled into a fist around the comforter. "It was another of the Council's and Zepar's stupid tests!" he snorted, anger flickering in his eyes. "I wanted to kill all those cowards. I was so very pissed! I still am..."

So that explained the sword. And he nodded almost stupidly as he remembered more of what happened. He had been out for groceries, the bags were spelled and he had been out of it since then.

"I died," Derek whispered, remembering his reaper there and being out of his body, a few times. It wasn't exactly the first time for him to die, usually his body was quick to jumpstart again, pretty much the reason why his reaper was frustrated with having him as her charge, often summoned and never being able to fully reap. This was the first time though, that it happened to him while they were bonded. And that explained why Stiles looked the way he did.  
  
"I'm sorry," Derek was quick to say as he put the glass away and reached for Stiles. If he'd lose Stiles, even for a moment, he'd lose it completely. And Stiles had to go through that. "You shouldn't have felt that." He worried for Stiles and what it had done to him, disliking that he hadn't been there, that he hadn't been able to prevent it from happening. The pain of losing a mate... it didn't compare to any physical injury. It came closest to drowning slowly from blood in your lungs while your chest exploded and your heart broke and your skin was impaled by thousands of shards. And Stiles, he had felt that.  
  
"I was putting the bags in the car, there was a rune on the bag and I remember feeling really tired, drugged, kind of like Kanima poison but I couldn't even feel emotions. Zepar was there and a lot of hands, people with hoods, they were tugging at my clothes and there was somebody with the sword...." He could remember the pain he felt, but didn't say it, Stiles had felt it, there was no need to go there. His eyes widened as he realized what his mate just told him.  
  
"The Nemeton... I bled out on the Nemeton. Stiles! They know! What did you do..? You didn't go after them by yourself?"

There was no need for Stiles to confirm that Derek had indeed died this time and bringing him back was hanging on a thread. If Stiles didn't get there in time... if he didn't have the magic... if he went after the fuckers instead of listening to Jordan...  
  
"Yes, there was a rune on your body too which blocked the healing kicking in. That's why I had to bring you back with magic and break that rune before Deaton could help on you. We owe him a lot by now," Stiles let Derek pull him even closer then he sighed. "It seems they do know and we can expect someone to come back from the dead again. Deaton says that we have to keep that a secret because necromancy is very bad news and strictly forbidden. They might come back for us if they get hard proof," he shook his head, looking just as tired of this all like he felt.  
  
"Oh, believe me, I wanted to go after them SO badly. They wanted to see if I was going to lose it and harness the Nemeton's powers which only got stronger with the fresh blood sacrifice. I was covered by them too – its magic and your blood. They planned it all out. Placing an unstable Spark right into the middle of the biggest temptation ever," he explained, not holding anything back from Derek because he promised and because Derek knew about his fears of the Nemeton and what it could do to him. "I was very close to giving in and murdering every single one of the hiding cowards. But Jordan and helping you snapped me out of it. Without you, though... I don't know what would've happened..." he whispered the end, forcing himself to relax his hand around the cover on Derek's chest.  
  
There was so much pain and rage. There still was, boiling under the exhaustion and worry, feeding and triggering his Spark. So Stiles had to pay extra attention to anchor himself to Derek.

"Without me, you wouldn't have been pushed that far," Derek reassured even though that was a maybe because there was another weakness to Stiles, his dad. If he didn't have the Hale and the daughter, then he'd most likely snap if he lost the one parent left and having no anchor to fall back on. But that was thinking in ‘what ifs’ and that wasn't going to work, ‘what ifs’ from the past weren't going to happen and there was no need to use energy on them. The only ‘what ifs’ that counted were those needed to anticipate what could happen in the future. "What matters is that you didn't give in."  
  
Stiles wasn't Jennifer. She had been solely chasing after the power of the Nemeton to fuel herself, she had been a darkness fully in her need for revenge since she was a young woman. Everything she had done were for her own gain, even seducing Derek had never been about wanting him, it had been about the fact that he was the key to the Nemeton, the one guardian she needed in her end plan. Everything Stiles did, it was for them, for the good of others.  
  
"You won't give in, I know you. I know you have nightmares about Donovan when it was self-defense. I know you feel guilt for all that the Nogitsune did in your body when it was never you. You have regrets, you'd cry if you had to put an animal down. And even when possessed you knew how to reach me with a chess board. You're so much stronger than you think you are..." A thoughtful frown appeared on Derek’s face as he ran a soothing hand on his mate in an attempt to calm him down.  
  
"She said she did it for the ‘overlooked’. The alpha pack happened when she was young, training to be a druid and Kali was her mate. What if the alpha pack in a way was a Council test? What if they have been pushing strong Sparks like you and her too far for too long and the ‘overlooked’ were all the druids falling victim to that?"

It would explain why this Council never bothered to stop her in her murdering rampage. She had failed their tests and she was bound to die anyways. Druids had often seemed like they weren't neutral, they often stepped in when it was for the good of the balance. Who decided that balance? Was what happened with Jennifer a result from tests because then all the innocent deaths had been 'allowed' for the sake of powering the tree? It was like every little puzzle piece fell into place.  
  
"I think… you're already a Darach, and you never went dark as you were supposed to."

Derek's words felt good to the shaken up Spark and he also asked a few very good questions. But then his body went rigid in the embrace and against the wolf's body. The shock was evident in the widened eyes.  
  
"W-what?" Stiles asked and swallowed hard as that last sentence sunk in. His first reaction was to immediately refuse even the possibility of that idea. But in a few seconds his clever eyes were already moving from side to side as his brain fired up. "I mean... that... kinda would make sense..." he finally admitted. "In general I think I qualify as a druid, but at the same time because of my strong connection to the Nemeton, I already have darkness in me..." he squirmed a bit uneasy. He really didn't like where his mind was going with this train of thoughts.  
  
"Are you suggesting that basically the Council encourages creating darachs for some reason? Like powering up Nemetons or... dunno... triggering these 'darachs' in the name of 'balance'? That'd be quite fucked up, if you ask me. And if that's the case... with his connection to the Council... can we fully trust Deaton? What if he's involved somehow? Grooming me, powering me up for the Council's plans? Sure, in the past he didn't want to do that but things have changed. What if there's something in it for him too?" Stiles' face suddenly darkened.  
  
During the months since his return, Deaton slowly managed to grow on him in a weird kind of way. Stiles was like an apprentice or protege to him. "He knows a lot about us. I... confided in him about many things... which he could've leaked out about me... us..." he frowned deeper. "I don't like that idea. And I don't know if it's something we should consider or it's just my paranoia talking from me. After all, we still don't know how Zepar and the hooded assholes knew such intimate details about us..."

"I know it's fucked up but think about it." Derek wasn't the first to have conspiracy theories. If anything, he hated to think along the lines of something being fate. However this was impossible to ignore, maybe dying gave him some clearer vision on it and talking like this was at least settling the unease in Stiles and it meant Derek didn't have to think about the very close brush with death. It was better to focus on what they could do instead of thinking about what happened, especially since the wolf had a tendency to brood.  
  
"Peter and Deaton were there when Paige happened, even though I didn't know Deaton at the time. Paige was the start of all of this. Jennifer knew how to find me, she wanted to keep me and now we're bonded. We played right into everything they wanted to happen. I don't know why, but there's more going on here." Deaton helped them, yeah, because it wasn't in his interest not to. If Derek died for real, all of it would have been for nothing since Stiles wouldn't live for very long after that. "I don't think we can trust Deaton or his sister or Peter." It was possible that they were all in on it, or only one of them, but it wasn't something they knew so all of them had to be avoided.  
  
"We need to look into Nemetons, their connections to druids and the real meaning of darachs. All this time our information came from limited sources. What if being a darach doesn't have to be a bad thing?" One thing didn't make sense though, Deaton hadn't stopped Stiles from wanting to do the ritual to block his magic, he had reluctantly helped him. Derek rubbed at his head, Stiles was better at this, at connecting everything, researching and then putting together this idea that hadn't been wrong often. Had Stiles been wrong before?  
  
He tried to sit up but pretty much got nowhere, so he groaned instead, reminded of what his body had been put through. "Somebody is going to come back from the dead too." They didn't have time for this, what if it was Boyd or worse, somebody like Matt or Deucalion? It felt like they were in quicksand and the more they attempted to get out, the deeper they got into this mess.

"I agree with the notion that there's more going on here. There are pieces on the chess board we don't know the meaning of. Yet. But that mantra is right: the truth can't be hidden. It'll comes out eventually and I have to believe that we'll get answers to our questions. That we can solve this," Stiles nodded, already deep in thought, even if his brain was working slower than usual since he was still exhausted.  
  
"I never trusted Peter or Morrell that much, for that matter. With Deaton... I could never fully read him and I think we'll have to be careful with him too. Too much is at stake here."  
  
Watching his fingers picking on the cover on Derek's chest, Stiles hummed. "Yes, we have to dig deeper into Nemeton lore. I could dig and ask around a bit through some of my connections. And maybe... maybe I should go to my dad's house' attic. Mom mentioned that I should go through her stuff there. Maybe I can find something useful there..." he thought out loud but Derek's groan alerted him.  
  
"Hey, where do you think you are going?" he asked, using that hand on Derek's chest to keep him down on the bed. "You're too weak for that yet. The magic is out of balance too. First we need to connect to heal and feel better," Stiles warned. They both needed that quite a bit. One just had to look at them. "Are you up for that?"

"I wanted to get out of bed because there's so much to do." But since the one hand of his mate kept Derek flat in bed with ease, there was no way they were leaving now. Wait, why were they in Scott's old room? He just now realized where they were, at the McCall house and they were wearing clothes he didn't recognize. Not answering Stiles just yet, he leaned in to sniff at the clothes. Chris. They were wearing Chris' clothes. He wasn't sure how he felt about that but there was no way they'd be able to wear Scott's old clothes, the true alpha was a short guy, even now.  
  
The IV was in the way so he reached for it to tug it closer, fiddling with the little wheel to close the tube before pulling it out. His own healing was working fine again so no need for the extra boost. He was more tempted to put it in Stiles' arm instead, because he looked like he could use it. Then again he hadn't seen himself yet so maybe he shouldn't voice that thought out loud before it was thrown back in his face. He had died, Stiles nearly died because of that, they were allowed to feel and look like they were auditioning as ghosts for a horror movie.  
  
"I'm ready for that. No...." Wait, there was still something sharp poking him in the neck so Derek pulled that one out as well, the wound closing as he kept his finger on it to not stain Melissa's bed sheets. He was pretty sure his blood had stained enough already. "Now I am." To him it was most important that Stiles was able to heal and he was sure that he could use some magic, or get rid of some of the magic with all the rage inside of him. Letting it build up was dangerous, especially now.  
  
"Just... be careful. I don't know how a soul feels after near death and you're going to touch mine. Don't get tempted to stuff me full of magic when it's dimmer than usual. I always feel out of it for a few days after dying."

"I'll be careful, I promise..." Stiles gave Derek a small smile after watching him get ready for a different kind of infusion – the magical one. The magic was impatient, yes. It's been stirring and bubbling restlessly since Stiles had felt that excruciating pain through the bonds when they started hurting Derek. So it was eager for the connection being established again for the balancing.  
  
Resting his head back on the pillow to watch his mate's reactions, he took Derek's forearm and pressed their runes together. Like for a while now, Stiles didn't have to utter any words anymore, the connection came to life in seconds. Maybe even a bit faster than usual. Perhaps they were already affected by the Nemeton's growing powers. Stiles wouldn't be surprised by that.  
  
He focused his control on the magic, concentrating on not letting it rush into Derek like he felt it wanted to. Like a few times before after fixing the wolf's soul, he had to let it trickle through like a soothing stream of water. The moment it reached the ragged edges of the strained bonds, Stiles closed his amber eyes and sighed relieved. It was like spreading a healing balm on a too dry wound.  
  
Behind his eyelids he could see the magic mending and healing the bonds with the help of Derek's own healing. It was fascinating to see and feel the two working together like a perfect team. And within half a minute he noticed that breathing became a bit easier and the tightness around his chest loosened a bit.

With how connected they were to the Nemeton, it seemed with its power getting stronger, so was their connection to one another. There wasn't even a pause when the two runes touched, the magic wanted to rush to him and Derek felt how Stiles was keeping it back so it wouldn't be too much of a shock. To him it wasn't the same as to his mate, mostly because he hadn't been awake long enough to feel the strain on their bonds in the same way, and everything felt too stretched, too thin, too fragile. The balancing helped that, it was like getting a massage on aching muscles, a balm on a burn, or a warm blanket on a cold body.  
  
Stiles was instantly relaxing more, eyes closed while Derek watched him because he wasn't that interested in closing his eyes even though the lethargy pulled at the heavy eyelids to give in. His soul wasn't the only one that felt out of sorts. No wonder, it was a too close call for anybody's comfort. And yet, somehow he knew the intent hadn't been for him to die. They would have undone it, because they weren't done yet. Stiles was no good to them dead. If Derek died, so would the Spark and that was a fact.  
  
The healing focused on leveling the magic between the two and to fix the bonds. There was nothing in Derek's body that wasn't healed yet physically, because Stiles had taken care of that and the sleep as well as the blood. By tomorrow his own blood was going to be working as it should, would have enough in his body by then and there was only going to be the mental component left. One that wasn't going to be much of a problem, for him. The strain was mostly on Stiles and the others because he hadn't been awake for it all.  
  
This wasn't even a strain, this was so normal that it was mostly a relief for them both. Stiles was starting to look better so Derek finally closed his eyes as the ritual did it's work, as their souls connected in ways it never was going to be able to with others.


	4. 18: If You Dare – Part 4

**18: If You Dare – Part 4**

Even with the balancing, it took a whole other day for the mates – especially for Derek – to be able to leave Scott's old room and thank Melissa and Chris for all their help before Stiles sat behind the wheel of the Jeep to drive back home. It was a pleasant surprise that someone managed to clean all the blood off the seats and wheel. It was like magic! That thought made him smile to himself.  
  
Thinking about his dad's worried face during his visit did put a damper on his mood, though. Lately he's been making him worry a lot, which always made him feel guilty. If not for Jordan and Beth to keep his dad occupied besides his work, Stiles would feel even worse about it. At this rate they were going to give his dad quite a few early gray hairs and permanent 'worry wrinkles' on his face. But it was their lives now and he doubted that it was ever going to change. Peace was only temporary in their world. Everyone knew that, but still, it didn't make Stiles feel less guilty. At least he could promise his dad that in a couple of days they were going for a visit so Derek can spend some much needed time with Beth while Stiles was going to get lost in the carefully stored boxes of his mother's stuff in the attic.  
  
The Camaro was back at their building – courtesy of Parrish as well as the fresh food in their fridge. Stiles even made a comment about what a good decision it was to welcome him in their pack.  
  
Neither of the mates were rested or healed by all means, but they were working on it. And they couldn't lay around idly either. One of the reasons they wanted to get back to the loft was to have access to Stiles' healing potions and the tools for the thorough research they were going have to do about Nemetons and darachs.

The first thing Derek did when they got back to the loft was to check on his car, making a face at the scent in it. It wasn't damaged but it reeked of Zepar who must have been driving around in it for a few hours to make it stink in there so much. The groceries in the back had, unfortunately, been destroyed since they couldn't know what all had been drugged and or spelled. That and the ice-cream Derek had bought had melted and ruined a lot of the vegetables, from which most had gone bad. Same with the meal Stiles had been cooking at the time Derek got skewered with the sword.The higher temperatures in California made it harder to keep anything good outside of the fridge.  
  
He was going to have to bleach the car to get rid of the other alpha’s scent. With a sigh and trailing his hand over the car, he followed after Stiles who wasn't sure what he was doing, hovering. That's what he did now, he hovered, had been ever since Derek had opened his eyes yesterday. Didn't let the Hale shower alone, he trailed after him. And it was understandable, the younger man had been too close to losing his mate.

"It stinks of Zepar," Derek grumbled in explanation in the elevator on their way up to the loft. Their cat greeted them with loud meows, the only one who remained in the loft since the stupid chicken Derek had hatched by accident and their dog were both at Noah’s too, because they needed more care than their cat who loved the garden up on the roof too much to relocate.  
  
Derek and the cat weren't the best of buddies but they tolerated one another, there was no hissing happening from either side. And Derek had even built the stupid cat his own scratching fort.

"Tomorrow we need to get to the vault and look for books we can use." Tomorrow, not today. Showering and sitting in the car and the walk up here had been pretty much exhausting for his mate and even Derek felt the exhaustion tugging at him. He remembered that from last time, and how food helped feel better, probably why there was a bowl of oranges on the kitchen table.  
  
"We can see what we can find online today," he remarked as he got a bowl of canned meat for the cat, putting it on the 'cat' table where he could eat without the dog inhaling everything, if there had been a dog. "There, Little Red, no more complaining." The tabby cat attacked her food as if there hadn't been bowls of kibbles left for her the past days.

Despite feeling still tired, Stiles was glad to be back in their own place, which smelled like home. Each scent familiar by then. And he smiled because he sounded more like a wolf in his head than human in this regard. Courtesy of the mate bond.  
  
Moving to the fridge to see some things restocked there too, he pulled out some ingredients from there and the pantry he insisted on being installed during the renovations. After all, he lived with two werewolves, a few fur babies and he was a food enthusiast too, so they had a little food storage there by then too.  
  
"Yeah, I agree, we'll dig deeper online and searching the vault is a good idea too. I've never been there long enough to take a better look around," he nodded while packing everything on the counter (not dropping anything for a change) then smiled fondly at Derek caring for the supposedly 'only tolerated' cat who chose them to be their family (or caretakers?). Stiles knew that they had a soft spot for each other deep down, no matter how much Derek was capable of grumping about Little Red...  
  
"Maybe we could also do the visit to my dad's place after the vault. I miss Beth too, you know," the human added while filling a pot with water to boil for the pasta he was going to make. "Oh, and Zepar's scent has to go. Maybe after disinfecting the interior – once I checked for any hidden runes or curses or whatnot – some time later we could make it smell like us again," he winked, his usual self starting to slowly make a comeback. "But for now... how does some spaghetti bolognese sound?"

"I know exactly what items there are in the vault but I haven't had a chance to look through all of the books yet." Stiles was going to have a field day with the objects there and Derek had gotten rid of the safe since it had been broken into and was wrecked, thanks to Kate and Malia. He had his own vault in another state but that was a little too far for now to get to.

As Stiles got ready to cook, searching for ingredients, Derek lingered, not wanting to sit down just yet. Maybe some of his mate's restless energy got transferred over to him or he didn't want to sit down since that meant he had to get up at some point too.  
  
Stiles could offer to heat up baked beans and he'd be happy, as long as it was edible enough to fill their stomachs with. "It sounds good," the Hale agreed, taking the onion to start cleaning it, might as well help instead of doing nothing and watching the other. Retrieving the chopping board and a knife from the kid-proofed drawer, he glanced at Stiles who was busy measuring out the pasta.  
  
"Once you've checked the car, I'll bleach it and we'll make sure to add our scents to it again soon. I'm sure he rubbed himself on the seats just because he could." Sure he was doing what he was told but it was clear Zepar enjoyed himself doing it. Like flirting with Stiles right under Derek's nose. He chopped the onion a little angrily, they both were livid with the alpha. Good thing they still had to boil the tomatoes and he wasn't chopping those or they'd have mashed tomatoes.  
  
"There were five others at the Nemeton, I remembered that just now." Five, but he couldn't say if they were werewolves or druids or hired help.

Stiles paused after he put the pasta into the already boiling water and put a hand on Derek's bare forearm, squeezing lightly in an attempt to calm him. He was just as pissed at Zepar, but they had to keep their heads as cool as possible to be able to defeat him and the Council's attempts – whatever their reasons for those were.  
  
"That's valuable information," he said to his man then after caressing his arm, he let it go to wash the tomatoes too for Derek to cut after he was done with the onions. "I sensed six presences – Including Zepar's – while they were hiding and observing us," he said as he put a pan on the stove to heat the oil for the chopped up onions and put some spices on the counter too. Despite everything that was going on and troubling them, he loved how they moved around in the kitchen in perfect sync. It was grounding for Stiles to do something as simple and normal as making dinner together. And they really needed something like that.  
  
"Zepar was the only werewolf among them. The others were human. Druids from a lower level," he filled in the gaps for Derek without realizing that. "So he does work with the Council. I believe the one he called 'the Leader' wasn't there. I would've sensed a stronger presence with so much power around me. Before I got on top of the stump to save you, I didn't, their cloaking spell was working. But after that I think it stopped working," he said and took the chopped onions to pour it into the oil before giving the board back to Derek and start stirring the onions with a wooden spoon.

Stiles had already sensed how many there were so it wasn't that valuable, there wasn't much Derek could offer the other didn't know already and that was frustrating. He couldn't do anything but be stupid bait, and it wasn't that he wasn't used to it. Getting ripped open, impaled, dying… It was all so normal that the pain wasn't even the problem anymore. He'd heal, or not heal and need help and then heal; he was back on his feet as soon as possible only for it to start all over again. He was a liability, and it showed on Stiles, the strain of keeping him alive. Keeping him sane, dealing with his rut. Derek didn't know how to break through this cycle but he knew it had to be broken.  
  
Cutting the tomatoes in parts after taking the skin off, he threw them in the blender to get them chopped up for the tomato sauce. He added a small can of pureed tomatoes to the pan along with the chopped tomatoes, all on automatic. Derek didn't have to think about what a good sauce needed, he had made it often enough with Stiles and without him. Stiles would add the herbs, Derek would insist adding some sugar and some coffee creamer to it because it made it softer and sweeter without the bitter bite, they'd bicker about how much garlic was needed and sometimes the Hale would add some extra vegetables for Beth to not be picky about them. How was it that they worked so well together and yet constantly were struggling to survive?  
  
The pack was too small, that was the entire problem. He had one beta who wasn't even a werewolf, a mate, a cub and a human. They weren't ready for more even though they needed more, so it was a conundrum.

"They were chanting something before the sword happened. Zepar held me down and somebody else impaled me, I couldn't see their faces, it was blurry, I was spelled I think because I couldn't concentrate on them no matter how much I tried. I knew it was Zepar because of his scent and the hair."  
  
Derek stepped aside so Stiles could do his thing with the herbs and the sauce. "I remember thinking how it sounded like your chanting."

"My chanting?" Stiles' eyebrows shot up high questioningly as his slender fingers added the herbs and glimpsed at Derek while stirring what was in the pan. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, needing Derek to clarify that. "Otherwise, I'll make sure Zepar has a gruesome death for hurting you. Again," he said on a suspiciously calm voice. Like someone who had already decided about it as a next life goal.  
  
He looked back at the pan, stirring the sauce, the ground meat already in it too. "I keep circling back to that sword too. I didn't have the time to study it and maybe we should have taken it with us, but it was hard enough not to lose it from anger and worry. I mean... do you think there was something special about it? Or was it just a ritualistic sword or something?" he frowned then sighed. "It doesn't really matter anymore now, does it?" he shook his head and pointed to the pasta for Derek to stir that for him. It was starting to look good. It needed only a few more minutes.

"I don't know, I was spelled, my brain wasn't functioning all that well but that thought was clear. Like the chanting you did with our ritual, before when it was still needed." But like the faces, the words were impossible to focus on, they hadn't been English and chanting usually meant a ritual of some sort. Did it matter still? Probably not, whatever ritual they had done, it was all broken now by Stiles. Probably? It wouldn't be the safest to go back to the Nemeton to look for the sword, because chances were it wasn't there anymore. And they probably had no use for it anyways.  
  
"So probably a ritualistic sword to a ritual to bleed you out," Stiles said only that to the chanting Derek mentioned. That didn't matter now either since it was done and in the past now. "How do you feel about getting some protective tattoos on you?" he suddenly asked from kinda out of the blue, but for Stiles it was something he's been thinking about. "I hate to admit it, but what I saw and felt on Zepar gave me an idea to protect you better and make you stronger. Seeing that asshole actively use that magic is a proof that it works and isn't just a theory from the emissary book."

Stirring the pasta as pointed to, Derek checked how well done it was and poured the water out, adding a little butter to it. The sauce was soon done too so he set the table for them, not feeling like taking a plate to the couch. Derek paused briefly, plate still in hand as he glanced to his mate. "Okay. How many were you thinking?" Obviously this was something he had figured out already.  
  
Zepar's arms were covered in them, so probably a lot were needed and it was fine but for tattoos to show, it was going to need fire too. And Stiles never used a tattoo gun before in his life. So they might want to do this in a less obvious spot if possible, if Stiles was the one who had to add them to Derek's skin.

The Spark switched the stove off under the pan and stirred the sauce a few more times before pulling it to the side so he could turn around and look at his mate with his plate still in his hand. Aside from surprise he didn't feel anything against his idea in Derek. Which told Stiles that he was really on board with it.  
  
"Good. There are like six runes that came into my mind. Four for the elements, one for magic and a sixth for protecting you against all of them. Plus I was thinking about a seventh for power and focus," he said, walking to the fridge to tear off a piece of paper from the pink 'groceries list' pad he had bought with Beth and picked up a pen to quickly draw them down in a downward line. He gave the piece of paper to Derek to get familiar with them then put the steaming pasta and sauce onto the table, getting an energy drink for himself and a bottle of water for Derek from the fridge. "The size or the placement where you might want to put them doesn't matter as long as it's on your body," he added then served the food for both of them.  
  
"Soon I might need to get a tattoo or two too for more control and to have your pack's symbol too on me," Stiles hummed. "Obviously it's been on my mind for quite a while now, but things got too hectic lately."

It wasn't something Derek had to think about for very long. If Stiles thought runes were a good idea for the two of them to have more of a chance to stay safe, then the answer was always yes. The trust in the human was undeniable, so it didn't need more than a second to agree to it without even knowing how many or how big it was going to be. There was a big body to mark and only the spot between his shoulder blades was taken. Ever since he had been told by Stiles that he was a mage now, and ever since he had seen the runes on Stiles' body, he had known it was going to be part of them. There were already two on him in scars so those being tattooed on would only look even better.  
  
Taking the little piece of paper, he looked at the simple marks on it, and he was impressed by Stiles knowing them all by heart already. His studies with Deaton were really starting to pay off. The Hale settled at the table, looking at the marks some more to get familiar with them before putting it aside.

"My pack symbol will look good on you." And that was an understatement, he loved the idea of his mate having the Hale triskele on him and he would have returned the favor but there was no Stilinski symbol to use. That he knew of.  
  
"Of course it'll look good on me! I'm already a Hale too, you know," he winked at Derek then stuffed his mouth with some pasta, noisily sucking the sticking out ends, which of course made some sauce land around his mouth. "Hm, damn, we can cook!" he exclaimed more to himself and was already swirling his fork to catch the next round of his 'pasta victims' for himself.  
  
The food smelled too good to ignore for longer so that's where he focused on, feeling starved since he woke up yesterday. Maybe Stiles' bottomless pit stomach was contagious. Using his spoon to roll the pasta onto his fork, he ate a few bites first with an approving hum.  
  
"You're almost a Hale," Derek agreed since the human law didn't acknowledge their union as official, no, that came in a few months, date was all set and everything. They were going to hyphenate, since both didn't want to give up on their names and on paper Beth was a Hale so if Derek took Stiles' last name, that would have to be changed as well. Soon the human was a Hale, and clearly spaghetti wasn't going to be on the menu on their wedding day.

Before lifting the fork to his mouth, Stiles gave Derek a warm (and saucy) smile. "You say the most romantic things usually by accident. You know that, right?" he beamed at Derek, not taking his eyes off his mate and with that nearly missing his mouth but he quickly corrected the course of the fork to get the bite to its destination.  
  
Not saying anything about all the red splatters, since many more were going to join those, Derek thought back on what he said that could be romantic and gave a clueless look, he had been truthful. If that was something that worked for his mate as romantic, well that was good because he was going to get a lot of truths.  
  
"Well, technically I'm already a Hale because of the werewolf bonding thingy," Stiles blinked sheepishly at his mate then grinned "We just have to make it official with the wedding," he shrugged. It told Derek that Stiles was already considering himself as a Hale, part of the once prestigious clan, part of the family they were building for themselves.  
  
The ‘werewolf bond thingy’. It was a little more than that but Derek couldn't help but share that grin with one of his own, his stomach doing this little flip. Stiles considered their mating enough to be a Hale, wasn't caught up on human laws and fully accepted the werewolf one, accepted the alpha as his partner in all ways possible. "We Hales are lucky to have you," he gushed, feeling ridiculous to be so incredibly head over heels for this man to the point where he might as well call himself Scott and send heart texts to Stiles to exclaim his love.

"I think I want them on my thigh, because they're not for others to see. Just you."

"I hope you're talking about the inside of your thigh," Stiles said around the food then chewed fast and swallowed. "I think that asshole has such extensive tattoos because he prefers it that way and it doesn't have anything to do with the size or style at all," Stiles shrugged. "Maybe most he had even before he was spelled. Either way, these simple runes will give you just as much protection – if not more – than his. After all, it'll be me and the magic we already share fused into these runes along with my intent. So... basically we're gonna get even more tied together in a way, I guess?" he said amused and ate more. "But it'll be worth it. You won't be invincible like Zepar isn't either, but it can give you a headstart in many situations and hiding it in such a private place can help keep the element of surprise."

"Yeah, inside of my thigh so when I'm naked, which, lets be honest, is often, they aren't that visible." Zepar wanted to flaunt what he had, that was his right but to Derek, whatever he put on his body was personal and was nobody's business.  
  
"With how often I've died, I should count as invincible." Hales had a terrible track record in staying dead, or that was more a town's curse. "And if I die, you only have to put me on the Nemeton and bleed me dry so I'll be returned." Sure the Nemeton gave back at random but it was going to lose out on its favorite food without Derek so he had a feeling the tree would be very eager to make sure his death wasn't for long. Not that he wanted to test out the theory, nope. He was good, no more dying for a while if that was possible.

Stiles' smile quickly disappeared, though, when Derek brought up what he should do in case of the werewolf's death. The emissary stopped twirling his fork in the spaghetti. His first reaction would've been to raise his voice and demand Derek to stop with that nonsense. (Yeah, it was too soon yet to mention Derek dying.) But instead he took a deep breath and thought about it.  
  
"Not that I'd want to try that out but... do you think that would work? I mean... obviously the Nemeton 'likes' us around and we are its protectors just as much as the town's. But... would that be possible?" Stiles wondered. As horrible as a dying Derek was for him, if they had this very last resort, it'd be an advantage.

He didn't realize that Stiles wasn't ready to talk about Derek dying again, that to bring it up was probably a little too blunt and too soon. Derek was too used to bluntness to understand that some things would get others emotional for reasons he hadn't thought of. Fortunately, Stiles was willing to entertain his thoughts, to even mull them over. It didn't influence Derek's appetite to talk about his own death; it was a thing that happened, often. Him injured wasn't even making people blink anymore.  
  
"My blood empowers the Nemeton. I doubt it wants to lose me when it doesn't have a replacement." The how and why was something they didn't know. He didn't know what it meant, only that he was part of that tree as much as Stiles, Scott, Jordan and Allison were. "And we know for a fact that when I bleed out, somebody else returns." It was dangerous, he knew that much, dangerous because it wasn't only blood magic, it was messing with life and death.

"I guess you might be right about the Nemeton's 'intent' to keep you alive, but let's just not try this theory out, like ever, okay?" Stiles sighed and pushed his food around on the plate a bit. "I don't want to lose you or feel like I did when you nearly died on me... I was so scared," he mumbled and glimpsed back up at Derek. Not even the wolf's gushing could chase that feeling away, even if it was good to hear that his mate thought of him like that.  
  
"The tattoos will help us to avoid that, though. We should do it tonight, if you're up to it. You have your tattoo gun here somewhere, right? It shouldn't take long then we can rest and heal some more," the the human suggested then forced himself to eat more, because he knew Derek would comment on it if he left half of the food there – again. He was burning through the calories too fast anyway and the last few days' strain still showed on him.  
  
With that in mind, he quickly shoveled the remaining pasta into his mouth and washed it down with the rest of the energy drink. He even remembered to wipe his messy face with a napkin.

"I'm hoping to avoid that theory all together." Dying wasn't as glamorous as advertised and one of these times it wasn't going to be brief, it was going to be permanent. Derek would pull his own mate with him into death and he'd leave his daughter abandoned by both her parents so it wasn't like he treated this lightly. Derek didn't want to put Stiles through this again if he could avoid it. Only it wasn't always in his hands, sometimes he barely had the time to fight it. "I don't want to scare you like that." Sadly that happened way too often.  
  
"I know you don't want to," Stiles nodded. "It's not entirely up to us, though. I'm sure I'll scare you in the future too in some ways," he shrugged. Because it wasn't just Derek who could get into life-threatening situations. Even if he had magic on his side and Stiles was pretty sure that it'd try to protect him even if he himself was unconscious.  
  
Eyeing the plate to make sure Stiles would eat enough since he was already toying with the food, he made sure to keep on eating. They needed this and it was good food. "Tattoo gun's downstairs in the art studio." It had seemed the best place to put it since Beth had no access there to get curious hands on something that could hurt her. It had been cleaned and well-maintained despite not used often. Derek even had a real gun still, but that was in a safe, where Stiles' gun went too when he came home from work. As detective it was a requirement to keep the licensed gun in a safe spot.  
  
With some amusement he watched Stiles force himself to eat the food by inhaling it all in one go, to get it done because he didn't feel like it but he needed it. He didn't have to ask if his mate wanted more, but they ate so they were good. "So do you want to do the tattoo now or later?"

"We can do it now. I just need to prepare the ink I'll have to use," the Spark explained and got up to put his plate into the sink before taking out Tupperware containers to put the spaghetti and sauce in them for later while Derek was finishing up with his own food. "How about we both gather what we'll need and meet up back here to set things up?" he asked.  
  
It was better if they did it sooner than later since they couldn't know when the next attack might come. And damn, they had to come up with a plan to put an end to these tests too! It was going on Stiles' nerves and the situation was starting to wear them both down. Which was probably their goal too.  
  
"Once we know more about darachs and Nemetons, I could try a tracking spell to find that fucker and together confront him before he could make his next move. I want his ass either out of this town or dead. Prestigious werewolf bloodline or not... He had hurt you twice. I won't give him the chance for a third time," he fisted his hands on top of the counter, making some electric currents rush along its surface and making the counter lamps flicker.

"I know." The wolf didn't want to think about it, about Stiles being in a hospital bed, if they were lucky. But it was as much a reality as Derek getting injured was and the only upside, thanks to their bonds, was that Stiles wasn't fully human anymore when it came to healing. He could borrow Derek's which only made it less likely he was going to get killed, not impossible. In their way of life, the younger man was going to get seriously harmed, it wasn't a matter of if, but when.  
  
Taking his plate to the sink, Derek cleaned it enough to put it in the dishwasher, along with the rest of the dishes. It was tricky to let Stiles ink him with something he had never used before, there was no pig skin to practice on and though the runes were simple, it required some skill. Hopefully it would work enough to get the runes functioning since that was all that mattered.  
  
"Stiles..." The electricity hit his arm but ran along it to find something else to bother, like the lamps. "We need a plan before we confront him. We lost the two times he found us." Derek didn't have the illusion they were going to have the element of surprise with anything they tried, they were watched all the time. He wasn't the biggest fan of plans, but if executed well, they could work in their favor.  
  
"I agree that we have to be fast and not wait too long." Derek would fight. No matter what, he'd fight for as long as possible, but the last two times, he had fought for like three minutes? They weren't strong enough, which meant they had to be smart about it.

"Yes, I know... We'll come up with a plan," the Spark sighed, taking a deep breath to stop the flickering before the magic would pop the bulbs. To gain control, he turned into Derek's arms, anchoring himself with his mate and familiar. He nuzzled to the bigger man, arms wrapping around him as he rested his head on the warm chest.  
  
In the past it was usually Stiles who came up with the plans that worked for the old pack to confront and win over the danger they had to face. It didn't change much during the years either. Even as a detective, he often came up with the raid plans, even if he wasn't the one to lead those operations. Now he had a mate who was much more than just supernatural muscle power and claws. Derek was a very intelligent partner and much better by now in strategy than when he first became alpha. Now they worked as a team and came up with things together.  
  
"We can get stronger together, Derek," he said, sensing what his mate was thinking about. "We just have to stop fearing what we are capable of. If we combine our powers, I believe we can win this. Make a plan that's not over-complicated but swift. Which won't let Zepar know what hit him. No time for him and his goons to prepare and counter-attack. It has to have some surprise elements. Something they don't expect us to go with. Like us both utilizing what my fire can do," he thought out loud, letting some plans form in his head which he'll let brew before they have to pic an A and B plan. Maybe even a C, just to stay on the safe side of things. "It'll form, though."

"They're going to expect you to come at them, not me, so I'll be the element of surprise in this." Alphas were cocky, this one even more so. He’d expect Stiles since he was the stronger one of the two of them. And they had Jordan too but Derek wasn't too eager to draw him into this fight. Because it was the Druid Council, it was about Stiles and with that, the wolf too. Not their pack, not even Beacon Hills. It was all about the Nemeton and Stiles. Probably. This was why they had to research before a plan could form. They had to know what they were dealing with and how to use those plans against them. Stiles hadn't failed the last test, but was that enough to be considered done testing?  
  
Fitting his arms around his mate, Derek took his time so Stiles could stop blowing out the light bulbs or even the electricity all together. They needed that for the tattoo machine. "I'm faster than he is, more agile." His strength was no match, his speed was going to be the thing to help them. Derek knew how to fight, and if Stiles' magic could give him the strength they needed, then yeah, they could chase off Zepar or at least make him talk. He was only the lackey in this, they had to get to the leader who hadn't shown themselves yet.  
  
"Let's focus on research first. We'll have the upper hand if we know what they know." Leaning closer, he kissed Stiles. "I'll go get the tattoo gun, the sooner you have me inked, the sooner we can delve into our laptops."

"Right," Stiles nodded and stole another kiss which tasted of tomatoes from the food they just ate, but he didn't mind. He felt a bit more grounded and collected, even the lights stopped flickering so that was progress in his eyes. "Otherwise I agree. We'll build our strategy on you. I don't think they'll expect you to be in the forefront again, especially after me going nearly berserk on them and calling them out in a challenge," he said a bit sheepishly at the end, because yeah, he did that and Derek more likely than not had no idea about it.  
  
"You called an alpha out in challenge..." Derek's voice betrayed his disbelief. He shouldn't even be surprised about that, because this was Stiles, nothing was impossible with him. But this was a new level of not smart things to do. "Now he won't be going anywhere until the challenge has taken place." It could also work in their favor. Technically an alpha would be the challenger, however Zepar was going to expect Stiles now for sure and not Derek. So all they had to do was come up with a way for Stiles' magic to flow through him and they would have the element of surprise. Right. Not easy at all, however Derek wasn't going to avoid a difficult challenge, they'd make it work or go down trying.  
  
"Hey! I was pissed and on the brink of tapping into the Nemeton's powers and possibly the telluric currents..." Stiles held up a hand in defense. "And it's not as if Zepar formally accepted my challenge since he stayed hidden and silent in the woods," he added with a shrug. "Besides, he's challenged us first. We'll just give him what he wanted," Stiles mused with a dark little smile in the corner of his lips. Yes, he can be cruel too if triggered. And lately he was triggered hard and multiply times. Up to the point that he wasn't going to refrain from killing if necessary. He was way past shying away from taking a life in order to protect their and others or even the town in the process. After all, he and Derek were the guardians of the Nemeton, Beacon Hills and its residents.  
  
In the end, he moved upstairs to the greenhouse and collected everything he might need on a tray, checking up on the ritual he had read about magical tattooing on wolves and druids just to make sure he was all familiar with the steps. Then he walked down the spiral staircase and met Derek back in the kitchen.  
  



	5. 18: If You Dare – Part 5

**18: If You Dare – Part 5**

The Hale moved downstairs to the one room the floor below the loft he had claimed as his studio, it was a large room with a lot of windows to give a good light for painting. In a side cabinet was his tattoo machine along with all of the ink and he took the black with him, just in case it was needed. Which it was, Stiles had need for it the moment he placed it on the kitchen table.  
  
"Okay. So this isn't that complicated. Get your pants off, gorgeous," he waved towards Derek as Stiles was already sitting by the table, measuring out some herbs and pouring a green liquid into a mortar, pulling the black tattoo ink closer to him. "Basically I'll mix the paint with this potion which will help the magic and my intent to stick under your skin. Then I'll fuse my magic with the ink with some chanting and it's stencil then tattoo time," he explained to Derek. "I had seen a tattoo gun in action before, obviously, but you'll have to guide me through it. The positive side of this is that we won't need a blow torch because my magic will burn the runes into your skin," he said, waving with his hand over the mortar then muttering some Gaelic words as he poured some ink into the mix.

"It's all about the movement and a steady hand." Taking the paper where Stiles had drawn the runes on, he used the stencil paper to draw them. He made them as thin as possible so it wouldn't require too many movements but not too small, it would make it harder. They ended up being the size of a bigger paperclip and would take up space to halfway his thigh if they placed it high enough. Taking the tattoo machine, he decided on a lining needle as he attached the grommet to the the stem. It was a hard rubber to make sure the needle would hit the skin as hard as possible since it was like ripping a band aid, it was better to make it hard so the nerve endings would get used to the burning pain. Bending the needle a little, it went into the tube and he attached it all to the machine, adjusting it until it was right, keeping it at 7.5 volts and the needle close to the tube. Last but not least, he wrapped the rubber bands around it. "You're going to need gloves."  
  
Derek slid black gloves over, dropping his pants after that. Once the reservoir of ink was ready, he set up a little work place. And filled the small plastic cups with the ink. "You dip the machine in these to gather the ink, you wipe my skin often with paper towels so you'll see what you're doing. Most importantly, you hold it like a pen and don't press too hard, let it glide. Here." Reaching for an orange, he rolled it over. "Use this so you can get a feel for it. Tattoo it in there while I shave the spot."  
  
Snapping the black gloves on, Stiles caught the orange after listening to Derek's explanation and let him adjust the gun in his hand to hold it right. He didn't let Derek shaving the spot distract him. Instead the druid held the orange in one hand, the tattoo machine in the other and dipped it into the ink before pushing the pedal to make it come alive with that familiar buzzing. He held his hand steady and tried to tattoo some lines into the orange which eventually formed the runes he was going to draw on Derek. It was bad at first, but the more he made, the easier it got as he got a hang of it.  
  
After cleaning the needle, he tore off a few paper towels and turned to Derek. "I think I'm ready,” he said, showing Derek the decorated – in his opinion badass-looking – orange with a proud smile.

As the wolf was wiping the spot with alcohol, he glanced at the orange, it was going to have to do. "Sure, as long as it'll do the trick." Taking the machine from Stiles, he filled a plastic cup with water and cleaned it there. Just to be sure. Orange juice might mess up the spelled ink with the extra ingredient. Drying it, he handed it back and threw the orange away because nobody should be eating that by accident.  
  
Now where should he be settling himself to make it easiest for Stiles? Guess the kitchen table was once again functioning as bed and he put a mental note to look into investing some sort of fold out massage kind of table so the kitchen table could be used for meals for a change. Derek hopped on the table and pushed up the leg of the briefs he wore, leaning on his elbows as he let one leg dangle over the edge so he could bend the knee and give the leg which was about to be tattooed as much space as possible.  
  
"Does this work for you? You can use some of the green soap on my skin to apply the stencil, it'll leave a nice stamp for you to ink."

"Oh this works for me very much..." Of course, Stiles couldn't stop the double meaning or the suggestive wiggling of his brows as he was rubbing said soap over the shaved area. Because... yeah, his mate was sitting right in front of him on the kitchen table just in his briefs and a T-shirt. Who could blame Stiles?  
  
"Aaaaanyways...." he sighed resigned and rather concentrated on placing the stencil on the thigh in a straight line before gently rubbing it against the skin to let the soap soak the paper and transfer the stamp-like runes on the skin as guidelines for Stiles for the actual tattooing. Once he carefully pulled the paper off, he checked the placement, which looked good, so he picked up the tattoo gun again and took a deep, steadying breath with closed eyes, summoning some of his magic, which flowed down into his hand and the machine just as much as the already spelled ink. And as he opened his eyes, the irises were a glowing amber.  
  
Like in a trance, Stiles dipped the needle into the ink, murmuring on a foreign language and he began.  
  
The steady buzzing of the gun was strangely calming, wiping away his fear of needles (it seemed it wasn’t that bad when he wasn’t the one being pricked by it) and pushing him deeper into what he was doing until the lines were starting to manifest on the werewolf's skin. As he wiped away the excess paint, they glowed amber for a while until they burned themselves into the skin permanently then their color turned into the regular black of the ink.  
  
It didn't take long for every rune to be done and Stiles washed and wiped them clean at the end, inspecting his work. Doing this for the first time, the lines turned out to be pretty good and even, which made him proud of himself. He was still mumbling in Gaelic as he hovered a gloved hand over the tattoo to finish and close the spell with putting the strongest protective intent in the runes he could conjure up before they fully healed.  
  
And then it was done and he just stared at the finished work quite moved, a thumb lightly rubbing Derek's skin not far from the new tattoo. "It was successful. You should be able to feel it for a little while until it settles. It's supposed to act like a shield, repelling most magical attacks and help focus your magical and werewolf strength," he looked up into his mate's eyes. "To some extent you'll be able to wield the magic in you too. Like... concentrate it into your limbs and other body parts to shield you or make your punches and kicks stronger. You know... like when I did that to hold you down in bed."

Being tattooed like that felt much like having small glowing coals placed on the skin as they seared away the layers. It was a sharp pain like only fire could leave but it was gentler than having a blowtorch burning it all away. Most werewolves passed out at some point with that, depending on how large the tattoo was. But it was worth it to have ink in the skin, and the pain was always quickly forgotten after the healing happening within minutes.  
  
This time he was branded much like he was being tattooed, but his focus wasn't on the runes being carved into his skin with ink. No, Derek watched the frown of concentration on Stiles' face, the way the glowing amber eyes carefully zeroed in on what he was doing, the plump lips muttering in another language. The focus was intense, he had never seen anybody focus on something in the way Stiles could. It was like a super focus, forgetting all around him, not hearing or seeing much besides what he was doing. By the time the machine was turned off, the skin throbbed and there was a feeling like he had after they would end the balancing ritual and new magic would need a little time to settle.  
  
Now he finally looked down to what it turned out to be. The runes still had thin lines, they were obviously there but once the hair would grow back, the little he had on the inside of his thighs, they'd be practically hidden. Not unless he'd be spreading his legs. It was a perfect placement. "It looks good, you did well."  
  
With a few hours it would be fully healed and settled, if it even needed that much time. A dirty grin was flashed to Stiles when he had to mention holding his mate down in bed. Yeah, he remembered that, Stiles had demonstrated it in preparation for the rut. It had been like being cuffed with mountain ash cuffs, with nowhere to go. An iron hold.

"I'm happy you like it," Stiles admired his work for a few more moments while taking the gloves off then as he looked up, he caught that dirty grin. He instinctively returned it. "What? Don't tell me that from all my explanation that's what you choose to focus on! You dirty, dirty man... I think I might have corrupted you with my sexual being," Stiles snorted and stood from the chair to place his hands onto the table by Derek's sides, stepping closer between the open legs so he could kiss him gently. "I already love the runes on you. Even if I don't have a symbol like you do, these are like my marks on you... just as much as the two scar runes," he said, stroking his fingertips along the one in the middle of Derek's chest. Then he pressed another kiss against the wolf's mouth before teasingly dancing back to start cleaning up.  
  
"It also puts my mind a bit more at ease knowing you are protected like this now," he continued with his monologue. "I think with time and if more magic surges happen along with our usual balancing rituals and as we grow stronger from those, your control over the magic and your own feral powers might get better too. I'm very curious and eager to see you grow like that," he added while moving around the kitchen, tossing the things out they didn't need then cleaning and disassembling the tattoo gun – because yes, he had paid attention when Derek put it together and could recall and retrace the steps.

"I heard the rest. It’s something I have to train with." And not in a couple of days either, it's something Derek was going to have to train with tomorrow if they wanted to do a swift attack to keep the advantage on their side. Tomorrow was fine, he'd be fully healed by then to give his all to test what he could do. They could stop somewhere abandoned where the alpha could unleash his strength without doing too much damage to something that shouldn't be damaged. Preferably something steel or concrete. Anything heavy and large would do.  
  
It was why he focused on the one sentence, they needed some harmless flirting. It worked, Stiles was less like a pulsing angry mass, instead he was amused and relaxed. Even flirted back a little. "I've marked you already, with my bite. But I will tattoo you soon too." It could be his gift for kicking some Druid Council ass once they had won. They had to win, there was no way they had another option in this.  
  
For a moment he watched his mate working around in the kitchen before he slid down from the table, helping him clean up. The tattoo machine ended up back in the case. Derek had a few of them, left over from a while ago.

"You mean my control on a full moon will be back?" That was going to be a welcome development, because Hell had destroyed his control and the last full moons had been challenging. Not damaging because they had taken their precautions but the control he had worked so hard for, that he could function normally while there was a full moon? That had been gone.

"Yes, you'll have to train with it for sure. I'll help if you want to. We also have to find a suitable space to do that. Without the fuckers noticing or following us," Stiles said then hummed as he finished with putting everything back into place. "I think it'll help you control yourself on a full moon and maybe even during next year's rut too?" he shrugged kinda questioningly. "I'm not entirely sure how well this will work for you. But I should've thought about protecting you with runes a lot sooner. I'm sorry about that. I have no excuse for that," he scratched the back of his head with a slight blush.  
  
Really, it was kinda embarrassing and Stiles was also kinda pissed at himself for not thinking about it before. Well, that wasn't really true, he had thought about it before, he just forgot with all the things going on, including the huge amount of knowledge he had to absorb in a short period of time to be kinda up to date with all things magical so he could be a useful emissary/druid.  
  
"And I can't wait for you to mark me again..." he added, his blush intensifying as he looked at Derek from under his eyelashes nearly shyly, long fingers drumming along the surface of the kitchen counter.

A space to practice without being watched and followed? That wasn't going to be easy. Although.... Derek knew how to actually get away unnoticed. They'd go into the vault, since nobody could follow them in there and use the other entrance to get into the school and use a window or back door to sneak away. They shouldn't be able to track them anymore with the runes on them both and Zepar was going to have a hard time tracking scents when he thought they were still hauled up inside the vault.

"Shhh. Shut up. No apologies about that." Leaning in, he kissed him to shut him up because that was just ridiculous thinking and he didn't want to hear it again. "We had a lot going on." If they thought of everything sooner, then it all would have been way easier. Life didn't work like that, they were doing their best with all that was going on, which was a lot, a non-stop rollercoaster which didn't seem to stop anytime soon.  
  
"Soon I'll mark you like it should have happened." Consensual and not some bite in the middle of a rut. "But for now, we're grabbing our laptops and start researching. You get in bed and I'll get us some snacks and drinks." Operation Fattening up Stiles had officially started. But they needed the rest and the comfort of lounging in bed together as they first tackled the internet's knowledge on Nemetons so they could move to books tomorrow.

Stiles relaxed some more from Derek's reaction and kiss, which he savored. It helped him calm down more knowing that his mate wasn't pissed about his forgetfulness and that he actually understood. It also helped to stop the self-blaming before it even started.  
  
"From my side it was how I wanted it to happen, but I get it. Consent and being aware of what you're doing and all that," he stroked along Derek's arm and squeezed it lightly. Because yeah, Derek wasn't really in his right mind while he gave Stiles' nape the claiming bite his mate chose to wear for the rest of his life as scars. It was a fucked up situation, especially for the werewolf, but Stiles wasn't going to ever regret that decision of his. For Stiles (and for that matter every other wolf) it was a sign that he belonged to this alpha.  
  
"Alright, let's open our private investigator home office in the bedroom!" he smiled and pecked the other man's lips once more before he turned on his heel and headed in that direction, grabbing his laptop from the living room's coffee table. Sure, he was still somewhat exhausted, but the rest of the day spent in bed with Derek, snacking (and he saw what Derek was trying to do with that but didn't comment on it), doing deep research on magical trees and 'dark' druids was something he could live with at the moment.

***

The internet search hadn't revealed all that much on the Nemeton besides all they had known already. So it looked like the internet didn't have everything after all. There was nothing about an active Nemeton, as far as most were concerned, there were none. The ones known in the world, including the one in Beacon Hills were listed as inactive and long dead. Not all of them had been destroyed like the one here in town though, which made Derek wonder how it would feel for Stiles to be around one which was a large tree instead of a stump. They did however, find out that ‘darach’ meant ‘oak tree’ in Irish, and considering that the Hales originated from Ireland and much of the druid lore was also located in Europe, it was very likely Deaton hasn't been telling the full truth about what a darach meant.  
  
So their research had turned up some facts, which they had written down on the large board in the bedroom, which used to be in Stiles' old room. It would help Stiles make connections so there were some notes added, and some red threads connecting the notes. It was a beginning. The rest of the time they had splurged on chips, and oranges which Stiles had insisted on Derek eating because of the blood loss, watched a movie and did some much needed sleeping.

In the morning, the tattoos had healed, settled in his skin and it looked good, unnoticeable as they had wanted them to be. After breakfast, pancakes with a lot of syrup and butter and bacon, they decided to head to the vault, not even bothering to be sneaky about it because they knew they were followed. There were a few empty boxes in the back of the jeep for the books, which Stiles brought while Derek used his claws to open the vault. Thank god it was weekend, because sneaking around with so many students would be challenging. The entrance, while nicely hidden away under the Beacon Hills high school sign, was right in view and a moving large stone sign was going to be seen as well. The air in the vault as they descended the stairs wasn't stale, because there was temperature regulation to keep all the artifacts in there from getting moldy.  
  
Since there was motion, the lights flipped on, LED lights now which Derek had installed himself, because the exposure to it wasn't damaging to the books. And on cue, the sign shifted back in place, locking them in, keeping them safe from prying ears and eyes. The vault was still stacked full. They had their work cut out for them.

"Books but also items, we have to look at everything carefully now that you're a Spark able to use artifacts that might have been nothing before."

The last time Stiles was in the vault happened during the supernatural viral outbreak that nearly took the lives of Malia, Scott and Kira years ago. He remembered how he was banging so desperately on the locked wall of the other entrance from the school. How he thought his friends were all dead and that he was too late. It was a feeling he didn't like to remember that much.  
  
But now everything was different. He was here with his mate, who was a Hale and had every right to be in here. He also noticed the changes about the lights and air, but he didn't pay too much attention to those – or the lurking stalkers outside – because this was what he really wanted to do the first time he set foot into this vault. To explore everything in it. And Derek was right, now he was probably going to be able to determine easier what might be useful for them – thanks to the magic.  
  
With excitedly glistening eyes, Stiles rubbed his hands together and sighed kinda happily. He looked a bit like a little boy dropped into a toy store as he began to explore the shelves from left to right. He didn't try to hold the magic back this time. No, he let it flow lazily around his hands which reached out for every object on said shelves.  
  
"This place is fascinating, you know. I always felt that way about it. Its air is so rich of your family's history... I can feel it..." he murmured to Derek as he placed a deer scull with some magical residue – probably used in some kind of a ritual – back to its place. Just to pick up a small dusty wooden box to check the pendant in it, some electricity sparkling between his fingers and the moon stone in it. He knew he should've focused more on the books right away, but it was easy to get distracted in this place.

"Yeah, it makes it clear how much this town already dealt with even before we got stuck with chasing off all the bad guys." Derek let Stiles do his thing, knowing there was a lot on the shelves to look at and explore. He had been the same way when he had been younger, curious about all the stories behind it and he was in the vault so often that he knew exactly where everything was because nobody moved it, not even Peter. They all seemed to be like these big treasures.  
  
He opened up a wooden box to uncover the familiar metal triskelion disc, though the Celtic sign was on a lot of things here, it held memories. "Did you know Peter told me that the scratch on this disk came from scratching out the 'Made in China' mark and that it was a complete fraud to think this was something special used in our family for generations?" Derek hadn't reacted to it much, he hadn't believed it, refused to believe it and he still didn't know if it was true or not. Peter was good at that, good at hiding truths within lies.  
  
"This is what Kate had wanted so badly." Seemed unlikely she had kidnapped Derek and kept him for a month, while he hadn't been unconscious all the time, only the last two weeks, and de-aged him all for the disc to teach her control. Like that would help her when control was the one thing she had sucked at all her life. "Can you see if… if there's magic there?"  
  
It's ridiculous to want to know, but it mattered to him, it mattered in ways he couldn't put into words. Maybe he'd like to know that his mother hadn't lied about so much, since Peter didn't do anything but lie so that wouldn't be much of a surprise.

"I didn't know that Peter said that to you about the disc," Stiles said as he stepped next to Derek and respectfully took the object in his hand, first just letting it rest on his palm then lightly rubbing his thumb over a curve of the Triskelion with closed eyes, letting his senses size it up. "There's something that could be called magic stuck to it. It's an old object and was used by many wolves to learn control. Which is not an easy task and requires a lot of concentration while holding the disk. That leaves an imprint, a mark. Like their personal energies, a footprint of their werewolf magic..." he said, opening his eyes to look at Derek. He could feel it was important for his mate to know.  
  
"Otherwise the object itself isn't originally magical. But I can feel it's handcrafted with lots of care and helpful intent. So Peter was probably just having one of his fucked up jokes only he finds funny or flat out lied to you. But I guess you would've been able to tell that," he snorted then slid the disk back into Derek's hand. "I can feel your residual energies strongly on it too. And you know that it doesn't matter if it’s magical or not. What matters is that everyone who used it believed in it and it was able to help them either fully or to some degree to gain control. So it is a useful object in the end."

The problem with Peter was that he said a lot of things about as much as he could. "I don't know when he's lying unless he lets me know." The oldest Hale was a master in deceit and manipulation, starting early on and it never had changed. He had done good, he had done bad, but in the end all that mattered to Peter was Peter. And Derek always fell to it because there had been so few family left and back then they needed all the help they could get, even an insane back from the dead werewolf. Derek had a few weaknesses, one of them being that others managed to get under his skin to manipulate him.  
  
His fingers caressed along the metal of the disc, not feeling those kinds of energies himself, it wasn't his skill. It hadn't worked for him, not in the way it had meant to. "It's about repeating a mantra you believe in and holding onto something, a lot of young betas weren't familiar with their anchor yet so it helped them to have a focus." It had never been more than training wheels but still, he was relieved to hear it wasn't some object bought to train only the last Hale generation; that it had been in the family for a few generations at least.  
  
Putting it back into the wooden box where it belonged, since they had no need for it, he glanced at Stiles. "I guess I just wanted something of ours to not be a lie within the family." Always so many lies, one of the many reasons why Derek didn't lie. He'd omit certain things, sure, but he never flat out lied and he had never used his claws to take away memories of others. Never used them like that at all. Closing the lid, he handed another object to Stiles. A crystal. "This is something you should take, it's sometimes needed in rituals."

"Peter is... something else," Stiles tilted his head to the side as he took the offered crystal. And he said everything with that statement, in his opinion. He never liked the cunning Hale from the remaining family. He saw through Peter's schemes after a while and could never trust him. Not after everything he had pulled on everyone. Often more than once. And Stiles would always be angry at him for the psychological damage he had done on his own nephew for whatever reasons. Starting with Paige...  
  
Stiles briefly squeezed Derek's forearm as a sign of understanding and sympathy. He knew about the fact that the Hale family has been full of secrets, half-truths and often lies too. Which obviously bothered his mate. So he was glad that he could clear up the question of the Triskelion disk at least.  
  
Closing his fingers around the transparent crystal, a smile crept onto Stiles' face. "This one is a strongly charged crystal. Good for some types of rituals. Especially for location spells," he nodded and pecked Derek's stubbly cheek. "Thank you. It'll be useful for us in the future, I'm sure," he added, putting it into his pocket.  
  
Then Stiles continued the exploration of the shelves. After a while he began putting some useful things, like jars of rare herbs, spell ingredients and magical objects into a box. A few books followed too when they caught Stiles' attention.  
  
"To be honest, I'd take much more books with us, but I think we might have time for that later... Now... I'm... I feel like I've not yet found what we came here for. But I can feel its pull..." he mumbled, reaching out his hand, letting it skid over the spine of the old books, the magic searching, tugging at him as he was waiting for that strange feeling each time he found something useful happened. It was like a magnet, connecting his magic to the magic of the object itself.

As Stiles focused on anything which felt like magic to him and would be of use, Derek was looking into the books to see if there were ones they could use for their research about the Nemeton. The problem with most of the old scriptures was the fact that one book never had just the one topic. So he couldn't be as picky as he wanted to be, not wanting to skip out on what they needed by accident. He'd browse through them quickly to scan some of the topics because if they were going to read all the books now, they'd need more than a day. After about twenty minutes he came across the books he had wanted to gift to Stiles, Satomi's books.  
  
Quietly approaching his mate with the four books, he leaned in to kiss the back of his neck. "Do you remember Satomi? I think she'd like you to have these." There hadn't been much of her pack left, many had been killed when the deadpool happened and then many more thanks to Monroe, Gerard and all the hunters. The few left had scattered and some of the precious artifacts she had left behind had ended up with Derek. Her betas had insisted they would be better off with him and his legacy since they had no alpha to continue Satomi's pack.  
  
"They're about meditation, I of course saved them here but I have no use of them." Mediation and Derek Hale didn't go well together. A Spark like Stiles would be able to do more with them or use the exercises to help others along the way. Satomi's wisdom shouldn't go lost. Alhough unfortunately, Derek never was taught how they were able to hide their scents. That would have been a useful skill to have.

Stiles attention was drawn back to Derek and the books in his hand by that kiss on his nape, which made him smile to himself. He loved it when his mate paid attention to that specific patch of skin.  
  
"Yes, I remember her. She was a strange but wise alpha," he said, taking a closer look of the books. Of course, he remembered Satomi. And not just through the Nogitsune's memories of her. Stiles felt sorry for her and her mostly murdered then shattered pack. He kinda missed some of those wolves still. "Thank you, Derek. These are unique books that hold useful knowledge,” he leaned back against his wolf. "I'll treasure these too," he added and turned enough against the other to be able to kiss him softly. "This place is really like a treasure cove," he chuckled then went to the box to place the books in it.  
  
That's when he felt a stronger magical thug.  
  
Raising a brow, he straightened up and like someone drawn on a string, Stiles headed towards some shelves, but instead of stopping in front of them, he walked behind and to the furthest corner from the entrance. His now amber eyes looked around and zoomed in on a display cabinet. The strange thing was that there was a red curtain in front of the glass so what lay behind was obscured from the eyes. His hand reached out and before he could grab the knob, he saw a ward flash up.  
  
Lightly frowning, he murmured some foreign words and the protective magic dissolved in the air so he could open the cabinet. There was... one single book in it. Black leather-bound with an intricate knot design in the leather. No title either on the front or on the spine. The magic was the strongest around this book and Stiles reached out for it mesmerized, like under a spell.  
  
"What do we have here?" he asked more himself that Derek as he took the book from its place without any problems, the magic prickling his fingers, but not in an unpleasant way. He turned around, feeling Derek coming near, but the emissary didn't tear his eyes away from the book as he flipped it open with ease, the leather slightly creaking from not being moved for probably a very long time...

"How...?" Derek was staring at the book in his mate's hands that shouldn't have been opened, because it hadn't been opened in a very long time. So long that he had even forgotten it was there, hidden behind the curtain since there hadn't been any use for it. It had been one of those stupid family traditions almost, something passed down from generation to generation because the vault had been built when the town was founded. And the book had been in there for just as long. Who knows where it came from? The mark on it and the way the leather was bound suggested it was from the Irish ancestors.  
  
"That book hasn't been opened in... I don't know how long, because nobody could." That book had never been talked about much, it had been there and that was it. Though the curtain has always been a curious thing to him, even when he had been little. Talia had explained it with a _'It belonged to others before us and we're to keep it safe_.’ It had been kept very safe at least. So safe it had been forgotten.  
  
The pages were yellowed, made out of very rough old paper, like parchments. But it didn't turn to dust at least. "That's not a language I can read." And he could read many languages.

"What?" Stiles blinked questioningly as he looked up at Derek, a puzzled expression on his face. Because for one, the clearly magical book opened for him without any resistance. And second... "I can read it..." he glimpsed down on the page where it opened. Sure, there were quite a few runes he spotted in the slightly faded text, but the words made sense to him, so he had no idea what Derek was talking about.  
  
" _'Herein is the detailed history of the known different kind of Nemetons around the world. Some written down from the legends I have heard about, some from my own observations and research during my many travels over the years. These mysterious trees of power have clearly fascinated many with magical abilities, so it is not a surprise that my own awe and fascination only grew while conducting my thorough research which aimed to understand these trees better and to provide guidance to future darachs and the power they could unlock and wield for the greater good..._ '" Stiles read out loud fluently as if it was plain English.  
  
Excitement roared up in Stiles, making his heart beat erratically and fast, cheeks coloring and eyes glowing a bit brighter. His magic was swirling with more purpose, constantly in connection with the book as the rest was floating around them in a nearly visible golden haze.  
  
"Derek..." the mage looked up at his mate from the book. "This is _exactly_ what we were looking for!"

It made no sense how Stiles could read it when it seemed like gibberish to Derek. Especially since the human knew some Gaelic and could read a lot of runes but other than that, English was his only language. His Spanish was abhorrent, much to the Hale's hilarity because Stiles made it his own little language instead. Yet, this book seemed to be its own little language too, one made for Stiles. No wonder it had senses like magic, it was completely magic.  
  
"Your magic seems to agree with you," Derek said dryly as the ember golden haze was thick around the Spark. He peeked at the pages again but it was still not something he understood, couldn't even pick anything familiar out of. Something about the book made him not want to touch it, there was something repelling about it and he wasn't that eager to take it back to the loft. They needed to, it was a big book but it had to go back into the vault at some point because that wasn't going to remain in their home.  
  
"My mother couldn't even recall when the last time somebody had opened it." And neither Talia nor Peter had been the youngest of wolves. They were no Satomi but it came surprisingly close. Peter had hidden it well, always making it seem like he wasn't that much older than Derek, which had been a complete lie. The alpha couldn't remember seeing Peter younger as he was now, always the same look even when Derek had been a little boy. "I'm not touching it, it feels wrong."  
  
Probably because it had magic of somebody else, and he was completely used to Stiles' energy his magic created.

"That's interesting... I mean that it hasn't been opened for such a long time..." Stiles murmured, running his fingers through the lines then flicking along the pages, fascinated and probably already too immersed in the book. But he looked up when Derek said it felt wrong.  
  
"Wrong? What do you mean? It doesn't feel exactly... wrong to me. Sure, it is obviously powerful, makes my fingertips prickle from its energy, but for me it's... not like... wrong wrong like a cursed object would be. It's kinda... calling for my magic to connect?" Stiles tried to explain how he felt about the book while squinting a bit to see his magic swirling around it and connecting with it. Like it was powering the book to reveal its secrets to him. "Maybe I can read it because of me being a Spark... and if it feels wrong to you then maybe it's because of the darkness in me reacting to it? I don't know yet..." he mused while glimpsing back down on a drawing of the Nemeton in Ireland, the branches on the picture seemingly moving to an invisible wind. Like the pictures in Harry Potter. It was mind-blowing to say the least and Stiles was utterly fascinated and hungry to learn everything the book might have in store for him...

"Not wrong as in a darkness, same as your darkness doesn't feel wrong to me." Stiles wasn't Jennifer. With her there was this dark presence connected to her, but Derek hadn't been able to see it because she had somehow hidden it from them. And he hadn't known her. Stiles he knew inside and out, their souls were touching on a weekly basis or more often. The darkness there wasn't evil, it was more like this potential to be evil. "It's more like a wrongness, like mountain ash, where I'm not supposed to touch." Derek explained. "We sense mountain ash long before we touch it."  
  
Maybe it was the magic of others but then Stiles wouldn't want to connect with it. It clearly wasn't meant for him, since he couldn't even read it while his mate was entranced by it. It would be good if Stiles was going to write it down at some point, like they had the bestiary translated as well. And not only by Morell since she hadn't been truthful in the translation she had given to Allison. If this book was so important, they were going to have to make sure the information was there when they needed it, when generations which didn't have a Spark after them needed it.  
  
"Ah, I see..." Stiles hummed to Derek's explanation. "It might feel wrong to you then like it would feel wrong to anyone who isn't supposed to open and read it, I guess," he murmured. "It's a clever little spell to keep people away from learning whatever is written down in it. I think that 'defense mechanism' might be there for a reason. Which... only makes me want to read every page all that more!" he chuckled shortly.  
  
"I guess the need for you to have offspring is only made clearer. One of them needs to be a Spark for books like these." A Spark was inherited, so it could be passed on. But they could also get a whole team of kids and have it skipped to the grandchildren. In the Hale generation there had to have been a Spark to write a book like that, so hopefully they were going to uncover the secrets.  
  
"Is there a name of the writer?"

"Wow... I never thought about having kids in order to pass down my Spark..." Stiles' eyes widened for a split second then his look softened. "Imagine that... a mini me unwittingly levitating toys!" he said, nearly melting on the spot from that mental image. And it only made him want it to happen more in the future.  
  
With a small hopeful sigh he shook his head and concentrated on Derek's question. Flipping the book to the first page, he noticed a name in the left bottom on the inside of the black cover. It was imprinted with golden letters.

"It says that the book was written by a Cormac Hale from 1895 to 1905... So this means... at some point there WAS at least one Spark in your family too!" Stiles exclaimed all excited again because it meant more research!  
  
"Do you think there are books here about the Hale family members?" he looked up at his mate again, amber eyes glistening hopefully and full of curiosity. "We should look into this Cormac Hale too if we can, to find out more about his life."

This town wasn't that old, it had some history but it wasn't ancient. "Must be around the time the town was founded, a little before the world wars happened." It made sense, Cormac must have been part of the family which had settled here from Ireland to be near the Nemeton. Before it had been cut down in World War II. Beacon Hills had been founded by the Hale family, everybody who had looked into the history of the town knew that but they had never been part of a council or been mayor. They were there to protect the town and had gathered a fortune by selling land to new homeowners. These days, Derek had very little claim to anything of the town, though he secretly owned a few buildings and the preserve was still in his family's name. In name only, it was a nature preservation and couldn't be sold or used, it was his to protect its rights. To protect the Nemeton.  
  
"We have books yeah but..." Stiles was going to find out everything about the old money and what he owned. Maybe it was high time to unveil secrets which hadn't meant to be secrets in the first place. "You're going to find out some things." Derek's knowledge into the family's history was limited, he had been into learning about all the supernatural. It was Laura's task to be alpha and she had to learn all that history. He was Alpha now, though, and probably about time he knew. He had looked into the last book, updated it regarding his family's deaths, the status of those alive and of course added Elizabeth Laura Hale to the ranks. His pack needed to be updated, as well as Stiles's relation to Derek.  
  
"We always had humans in our pack, but none had the Spark, I think. We had female alphas only and all of them were able to have the shape of a wolf. Hales always had to be able to speak many languages so we were tutored from an early age though none of us knew why. And those who married would always take an outsider from another culture to add in to ours. My grandfather was Italian and he took on the Hale name." Nobody had ever hyphenated as Derek was going to but he didn't care, he wanted this to be equal, these were new times. With a male alpha for a change.

Stiles lightly frowned. "Well, that's the purpose of research, to find things out. Or do you mean secrets about your family's past that are a bit iffy? I'm fine with that if that's the case. Your whole line's life is about survival and protection. It won't influence the way I feel about you or your ancestors," he reassured Derek. "Besides, what's in the past is in the past, I guess? Usually," he shrugged, thinking over what Derek just said.  
  
"Hm, then with mating and marrying me you continued that tradition and brought my exotic Polish blood into the bloodline," he grinned. "Not to mention a strong Spark," he wiggled his brows. "I think I'm quite a catch, don't you agree?" he asked as he closed the book, putting a hand on his hip.  
  
"We are also the start of a new generation. And if our daughter will inherit your alpha spark one day, we'll have to make her ready. And not just her but our possible future kids too. Because we know now how quickly circumstances can change..." he said on a gentler tone, meaning the sudden death of a big chunk of the Hale family then also Laura. "I want our kids to be prepared and strong. In full knowledge not just about the werewolf way but the Spark way too. Because it is likely that one day I'll pass down a bit of my Spark to one of our kids. It's our responsibility to teach them everything we know so they can survive in this badshit crazy town," he said, finally putting the book down on the edge of a table and stepped to Derek to take hold of his hands. A strand of his magic though stayed connected to the book behind him. "Our kids will be forces to be reckoned with. As a pack and individually too."

"Everything about my family was a little iffy," Derek remarked with a soft huff of laughter. It wasn't something he was worried about, a lot of the secrets he didn't even know himself so he understood Stiles' reasoning to not have their generation of Hales make the mistakes the previous ones had. Though it hadn't been on purpose, both Cora and Derek had been too young to fully learn what it all meant, they were kept children for as long as possible. Unfortunately, that didn't last for long since after the fire, there hadn't been time to be a child. "I don't think Beth will inherit my spark."  
  
She was a hybrid, not a full wolf, the inheritance wouldn't go to the first born, it would go to the one ready for it. If the death was a kill by a beta, it would go to him, and if it was something else, whichever the strongest pack bond it could find. Isaac wasn't strong anymore so it might go to Cora if she was close enough. Might. It was something Derek didn't think about. Whatever happened, happened. The Hale spark had been lost once before, when he had healed Cora. What he had now was a stolen spark from an alpha he had been forced to kill. It didn't belong to the Hales, and if it got lost, so be it. They'd find a way, even their kids. They were going to be resourceful because they were going to be raised by Derek and Stiles.  
  
"Our kids, huh? Sounds like you're planning on having a lot of kids." And Derek was all for it, the more the merrier, a big family was strong. Tugging on the joined hands, he pulled his mate closer to briefly press his face against Stiles' neck. "How about five?"

Stiles wanted to ask why Derek thought it wasn't going to be Beth but then he remembered she was a hybrid just when his mate thought about that. But what suddenly drew his attention more was Derek's hot breath on his neck and that question.  
  
Inhaling his mate deeply, he lightly squeezed the hands in his. "Five?! Well, only if I don't have to give birth to all of them! Do you have any idea what that would do to this awesome body?" he let one hand go to motion at his slim yet toned build. "Nu-huh!" Not that they didn't know it was impossible. But Stiles liked to time after time tease Derek with it just to annoy him a bit. "But maybe if youuuu did it..."  
  
Toned arms wrapped around the werewolf as Stiles nuzzled against Derek. "Initially I was thinking about two more kids after Beth, but... I'm not opposed to have more," he murmured. "A big Hale-Stilinski family would be nice, indeed..." For one, since Derek was used to have many relatives, and because Stiles never had that but always longed for it. "Beth would love to have many siblings too," he added, chuckling softly from remembering how often she brought up the topic.

Beth was notorious with her wish for a little baby. So much that they had to try and explain to a toddler why daddies didn't have babies, mommies did. Which only lead to the uncomfortable topic of Lydia, where their little girl was crying because she missed her mommy. It was hard for the two men to not put Lydia in a negative light, but for Beth they restrained themselves and tried to shield Beth from the heartache which came from abandonment as long as possible.

Derek didn't have an exact number of kids he wanted, a big family sure, but it didn't matter to him if it were three or five or more. Planning something like that would only lead to trouble, and why even go there? There was a surrogate they liked, so it wasn't that far in the future. However the Hale had wanted to focus on the wedding first, and all the things they keep having to deal with. Right now it wasn't even something they would do, but they liked talking about it, that was all. A low chuckle was drawn out of him.

"Sure, I'll get fat and round with babies for you. Would ten kids be enough? Or maybe twelve. I had twin siblings, it runs in the family. So we could get there sooner than we think."

Stiles chuckled and tilted his head to the side as he imagined Derek with a round belly. "Well, you carrying twins would be a sight to behold! Big bad grumpy pregnant alpha... God, I bet you'd be even grumpier than usual and snarl at anyone who came too close to you. I'd love that," he grinned, sliding his hands around Derek's neck to hug him close, loving how the big hands automatically slid around him too.  
  
"I also love how we can talk about planning a big family even in the middle of dealing with immediate danger. It's grounding," Stiles added, his smile softening. "By the way, two, five, ten or twelve, I don't care as long as they are healthy, happy, loved and safe. And our pack will definitely need some more cubs to run around and drive us up the wall. My dad has no idea what he's in for. He sometimes nagged me about grandkids. He'll have his hands full, that's for sure," Stiles giggled then leaned in for a soft, long kiss. "We'll get there, I promise. After we dealt with all this shit and had our wedding," he spoke softly, gazing into the beloved green eyes, his own irises still shimmering amber, but not as strongly as before.  
  
There was no rush for Derek to have all these kids, not as long as there was danger. The whole risk of him going insane was gone, the wall did its job and though there were bad days, it was manageable. But as long as they couldn't even fight one alpha without one of them nearly dying, or die since he had been technically dead for a brief moment, children would get hurt, like Beth had. And that wasn't going to happen.  
  
"And speaking of my dad... We should continue looking through the things here and sneak out the other entrance with the stuff we want to take and go to either test what you can do now with the protective runes or go to the house to visit Beth and go through the stuff in the attic too," he suggested, though made no move to loosen his embrace and step back from his mate.

"We'll go to the house first, I don't want Beth to sleep by the time we get there." The house, not home. Stiles had gotten used to calling the loft home now, which meant he was growing up. There had been a few tantrums when Stiles thought Noah was going to change his old bedroom into a gym when the older man had announced to make some changes to the house. Some things were hard to let go of and Derek got that, but the room was still a teenager's room, some changes would actually be good. Like a new carpet that didn't smell like a platoon of boys had gotten off on it.  
  
"Who knows what's there in the attic, it could be important for our research." And sure, that was important but Derek longed to see their girl and for them to spend a little time with her that wasn't through a phone or video call. She was having the best care with the Sheriff and deputy and Melissa, the two males were pack. But it wasn't the same of course.

"Alright. I want to see and spend some time with our daughter too, you know," Stiles said, feeling the need of a father and alpha to be with his cub stronger in Derek with each day. It was no wonder, though. Elizabeth had the strongest pack tie to Derek besides Stiles because she was his flesh and blood kid and he's been raising her alone pretty much from the moment she was prematurely born. Not to mention that she was dragged to Hell too. She'd lived through already so much despite her very young age.  
  
"We go see our daughter then," he caressed Derek's nape. "Just give me like ten minutes to finish checking things out, but I think we had hit jackpot with Cormac's strange book," he shrugged and stole a soft kiss before he was finally able to pull back from Derek. It's been a little while since they were this close and it was getting a bit harder each time to step out of his wolf's orbit.  
  
True to his words, Stiles did go around in the vault and picked out a few more books, crystals and talismans before he deemed their first round a success. Picking up the box they managed to fill up, he raised a brow at Derek. "So... front or back door?" he asked, grinning suggestively, but firstly he meant if they wanted to get back to the car in the open and probably tipping off Zepar and/or his spies where they were going or not.

"I know you want to see Beth, it's why I suggested it." This was the second time Stiles wanted to point it out and he didn't want to ignore it. Beth was both their daughter and he not once thought she wasn't as important to his mate as she was to Derek. And he wasn't going to make Stiles go up to the attic to look at things by himself why Derek took all the time with Beth. Yes, she was his offspring and he had the first time with her alone but Stiles had grown to be her parent just as much and was as important to the little girl. She ran to him too and not just Derek.  
  
Having said that, Derek pulled away from Stiles so they could look into the last few things they needed. Like the books of the Hale family, becauase they could be important. Stiles had added a few more things too and then the wolf took the boxes from the human because they were heavy. "Back door." Rolling his eyes at the suggestive grin, he only then realized what he said. Looked like their bodies were healed fully and their minds were getting there if Stiles could think about sex again. "We're leaving the car where it is." They were going to have to catch a ride with somebody or walk the way to the Stilinski house.  
  
Derek thought about it, yeah, they'd probably try to flag down cars to catch a ride. He didn't want to call a cab, because that might be something their stalkers would pick up on. And by the time they would have secured an Uber, they'd be at the house already. "We're going to come for it later. It'll take a while for them to realize we're no longer in the vault so once we're in the school we have to be very quiet. Take the backdoor there too, not talk until we're far away."  
  
Sure they knew the Sheriff's house by now but leading them to it didn't seem like the wisest thing to do. And they'd be hard to shake if they had to go test out these new wards to come up with a fighting plan.

"Oh god no! I'll have to be silent for that long?!" Stiles rolled his eyes and sighed over-dramatically before switching to a big smile. "Think I'll survive," he whispered at the end, holding an index-finger to his mouth to signal that it was time to quiet down. To himself or the wolf, it remained a mystery because before Derek could use his claws to open the door to the empty school, careful with the boxes the wolf was holding in one hand for now, Stiles pulled him in by his shirt for one last kiss.  
  
In less than three minutes they were silently walking through the school. It was always so strange for Stiles to go back here. Especially when it was empty like this. Luckily now it was only because it was the weekend and not because they were hunting some supernatural creature. No, now they were evading one... Still, it was funny that so many times they had ended up back there. It took some while for them to learn that it was because the school was built on a supernatural hot spot – where the telluric currents converged. There were a few such spots in town and the Nemeton was situated on one itself too. Now Stiles could feel it better too. It was a steady, ancient flow deep beneath their legs. Maybe if he called forth some of his magic and squinted, he'd see them just like how he could see the bonds he had to Derek or the ones the alpha had to each individual in their pack.  
  
But this time Stiles made sure that he didn't use any magic and tried to lock it up as much as possible since they didn't want their peeping toms to know that they were on the move and Stiles suspected that Zepar might be able to sense magical surges like that. So yeah... it was just them sneaking through the school, only a broken lock left after them and then using all the shortcuts Stiles could think of (Derek suspiciously familiar with most of them – the stalker!), they soon arrived to the Stilinski house in one piece and what's more important: not feeling watched or followed.

Derek had gotten used to being back in his old high school after so long. It often felt like he was spending most of his time at Beacon Hills High. More than when he had been a kid going there, because of teens he was attempting to keep safe under his watch, and nobody ever had stopped him. Sure at first he had a young enough face to pass for a senior who simply looked older but after that, he had been starting to look far too old to be going there. And yet, kids had accepted him. Sure they had stared and gossiped and he had lost count of the many times girls had attempted to flirt with him. This school was part of their lives, Beth was going to go here when she was old enough for it. Some day.  
  



	6. 18: If You Dare – Part 6

**18: If You Dare – Part 6**

Carrying the boxes with ease, the two had made their way to the Stilinski home without problems and Stiles hadn't complained once about having to walk all the way, which was very suspicious. A Stiles who didn't complain? There have been some glances thrown his way for that. The moment they stepped in through the door, there was a little girl throwing herself at their legs, not sure who she was going to hug first so she tried her best to hug them both with chubby arms.

"DADDY, DADDY STY!" she cried out happily, which made their dog run around them barking too. He couldn't hear the excited screeching but he could see his owners and that was enough for him. Chaos was complete.  
  
Putting the boxes aside, Derek lifted Beth to hug her and hand her over to Stiles while he greeted the Irish wolfhound who wasn't much of a pup anymore. The dog settled down more from the petting so the Hale could lean into his daughter and kiss her chubby little cheeks.  
  
"I makes all pictures," she exclaimed, which meant she had made drawings for them, probably enough to stencil a wall full with since she took after her dad with her artistic tendencies. Then again, her drawings were still at the stages where they needed an explanation to know what they were so they usually reacted very happy and tried not to say what it all was unless she latched into explaining. Like one scratch was a dog, and the other scribble was a house, then that scratch was Daddy Sty.

Being greeted upon arriving like that was the best thing in the world in Stiles' opinion. As he took Beth from Derek with practiced ease, he hugged her close and with closed eyes planted a few soft kisses into her unruly dark locks while inhaling her familiar strawberry scent with that certain pack scent as well. It put Stiles' slightly nervous mind more at ease. He considered the vault a success, but they still had to search the attic and going through his mother's things... he didn't know what to expect or how to react – hence the no complaining on their way here. But now Beth provided the perfect distraction for his restless mind.  
  
Which was still kinda full with the kids topic from earlier too and having their little girl safely in his arms had made that deep worry let up. He imagined parents constantly had that feeling whenever they were apart from their kid. It was funny how now his dad's behavior and countless outbursts like 'you won't know it until you have a kid of your own!' came back to him more often nowadays. Now that he was a dad too. And according to Derek a 'pack mom' as well. Whatever that really meant...  
  
"Sweet pea! God, I missed you and your beautiful drawings! Will you show them to us? Go, gather them in the living room. We'll be right there," he put her down after a smacking kiss to her rosy cheek. Her happy giggle was really heartwarming and Stiles smiled after her with a kinda dreamy expression. Right until he felt a wet nose nudge his hand and he looked down to pat Fenrir's big head, but not before catching Derek and his dad's gaze, who was leaning against the corridor's wall.  
  
"What?!" Stiles blinked from one man to the other.

"Nothing, daddy," Derek said as he and Noah laughed at Stiles' face. They were making fun of him but Derek was happy to see the interaction between the two. How Stiles fully accepted Beth as his own. She needed that, to have two parents. Bumping his shoulder with Stiles to show his fondness, there was still another father in the doorway, not moving.  
  
"Do I need to tell you again, son, how we Stilinskis hug it out?" Noah pulled Derek in for said hug, though the werewolf had a feeling it was more to make sure they were both whole and not sporting any secret holes still. Fortunately, all wounds were closed, inside and out so the hugs of both of them satisfied the older man to sufficiently let them get into the living room where a toddler was spreading out her drawings on the coffee table.

She hadn't been kidding when she said she had made many, and Derek settled on the floor with her so he could give her his full attention, barely paying attention to Noah saying he was going to get some drinks and snacks. Pulling the little round girl to him, Derek kissed her cheek as she babbled about her drawings.

"That's Daddy Sty and he gives lots of kisses to Daddy. Cause you are always kisses. That's Fenny with his bone and that's Daddy wolf," she pointed to a drawing of a black scribble with two red dots placed haphazardly where she thought it would make a good place for eyes.

"They're all beautiful, cub, but I like that one the most."  
  
"You put on fridge?"  
  
"Yes, we'll put all of them on the fridge. But I think we're going to make a large board for all of your art because the fridge is getting too small." They changed them out and there was a box for her older drawings because Derek didn't want to throw them out yet. He didn't get to have stuff from his childhood, so Beth deserved to have her own box of things to look through when she was older. Or a few boxes. He didn't even have her baby things anymore, they got left behind in DC where he hadn't been allowed to get them.  
  
Beth sighed and leaned in to cling to him. "I missed daddies."  
  
"We missed you too cub, lots and lots."

After hugging his dad too and reassuring Noah that he and Derek won't drop dead any time soon, Stiles joined the father-daughter duo on the floor too to inspect the drawings.  
  
"Aw, baby, these are indeed good and we missed you so much too!" Stiles smiled and playfully booped her cute nose, which of course made her giggle happily, like always. Sharing such loving moments with her was important for all three of them. Not just because they loved Beth, but because it was good for all the supernatural bonds the three of them shared. They were pack and not being together was felt for all of them. Stiles wasn't sure if or how she felt that bond, but he could tell that both he and Derek felt calmer and more sated around her.  
  
Looking over the other drawings too while smiling to himself because yes, Stiles felt more and more like a dad as time was passing by with Derek and Beth, he absently scratched the rapidly growing hound as Fenrir was laying next to them, slowly wagging his tail and appreciating the scratches.  
  
"Is that Grandpa No?" Stiles asked, pulling another drawing closer. He could only guess that it was him from the yellow vaguely star-shaped dot on his chest and because he was accompanied by a pink scribble (probably Beth since pink was her favorite color), appearing to hold hands.  
  
"Yes! He is taking me to pre-school. When can I go back? I miss my friends!" her expression turned from proud to questioning as she looked back and forth between her dads.  
  
Yeah, they were still trying to keep her safe with Noah, Jordan, Melissa and Chris rotating so she could stay in the warded Stilinski or McCall house. While Zepar and the goons were in town, they couldn't risk her getting hurt or kidnapped as 'another test'. At that point Stiles wouldn't be surprised if they tried something like that. After all, they had already tried to hurt/kill Derek twice and Stiles doubted that either he or Derek would stay in control if something happened to their daughter.

"Soon, cub, very soon." They hadn't told her anything, with good reason, because she was way too young to be involved and there was no real way to explain all of it even if they wanted to. The school wasn't closed so they couldn't tell that lie, she was bound to say something about it once she went back. It wasn't official school, she didn't have to go. Derek had started her on it so she could get used to being around kids her age before she had to go to school when she turned five.  
  
"Why? I want now." Beth looked at Derek with an angry frown and she was like a mini him with that look, her green eyes narrowed and her little arms crossed. Clearly she had been copying some of Derek's behavior and she already looked like a female copy of him. The older she was getting, the less there was left of Lydia, which was kind of a relief. Not that it was saying much, Derek changed over the years too.  
  
"I know, but Grandpa No needs some extra attention and we thought you would be perfect for it." At least she wasn't asking why they weren't there, she bought the whole work excuse since she had no idea yet what they were doing. Daddy Sty worked with Grandpa No and Daddy was always home. That's how she said it, which was fine for all involved.  
  
"You can give him extra hugs and be his very best friend."  
  
"’kay," she accepted it with a large grin. "I babysit Grandpa No."

Stiles felt quite amused – like often when he watched those two interact – especially when she resembled Derek so much. No wonder that from the beginning Derek talked about Beth like his carbon copy. It was cute as hell in Stiles' opinion. The frowning the most.  
  
"I'm sure Grandpa No will love that," Stiles grinned.  
  
"What will I love?" the sheriff walked in just then with a tray of juice and some chocolate chip cookies.  
  
"I babysit you!" Beth grinned then her eyes widened. "Cookies!!! Can I have one?" she asked hopefully, eyeing the tray which was put on the space Stiles freed up from the drawings.  
  
"I love that, it's true," Noah smirked and handed a big cookie for her because he was the kind of grandpa who shamelessly spoiled his grandchild – even in front of her parents.  
  
Stiles' own smirk grew too. "Beth, maybe Jordan can help you with babysitting grandpa..." he said.  
  
"Jordie!" Beth squealed excited with a bite in her mouth and began searching through the many papers. "I love him. He's funny and now smells like Daddy Sty and Daddy," she explained and gave a drawing to Derek. "Dat Grandpa No and Jordie kissy in backyard!" she announced.  
  
Stiles snickered shamelessly on his dad's redder and redder face.

“Why would you draw us like that?” Noah frowned a bit confused.

“I have two daddies. Grandpa No has boyfriend too, no?” the little girl looked up at the sheriff confused, clearly thinking that because she has two daddies, Noah must be together with Jordan too because he’s around so much.

“But we’re not…” Noah started, just to be cut off by the Hale.

"Either way… kissies are nice so I guess this drawing will have to go onto the fridge for all to see." Derek was shamelessly trolling the father-in-law, who could pass as a tomato at this point with how red his face got. Yeah, little kids would assume or see everything they weren't supposed to. Stiles and Derek had to find that out the hard way. Which Beth had announced to everybody. At least she hadn't walked in on them having sex, because that was a conversation he wasn't ready to have.  
  
"I love kissies," Beth agreed and proceeded to give them all a kiss, chocolate smears included as she smacked their cheeks with a happy little giggle. Derek meanwhile eyed the juice on the plate and the way Noah had gotten himself a beer. The old man was very good at trolling himself, clearly. The little girl settled in between the two dads as she had to hold the cookie with both hands to take bites, because Melissa baked the biggest cookies Derek has ever seen. Pretty much a whole meal for the little werewolf hybrid munching on it.  
  
Noah's face had lessened with the red and he looked at the two. "I sure hope you boys are having some sort of plan because I gotta tell ya, I'm pretty tired of getting the one call I don't like to get. Jordan told me about the close calls, and I don't like it. I'm too old to be worried about either one of you."  
  
At first Derek thought with ‘the one call’ the man meant to have the call about his son getting hurt but he meant the two of them. That, as usual when the sheriff showed some affection, made him quiet and feel flustered, not sure how to react to it. Stiles was better at dealing with the 'dad' talks the sheriff doled out. Because yeah, Derek was blushing, as usual.

Noticing and feeling Derek flustered and secretly happy, Stiles moved a hand to gently stroke first Beth's unruly locks while she was eating away the cookie happily – covering her lap and the couch with the morsels, of course – then he patted Derek's shoulder.  
  
"Yes, big guy, he cares about you just as much and not just because you are my mate/fiance, but because he secretly likes you and already considers you family," Stiles whispered with a grin, as if sharing a big secret.  
  
His dad snorted then grumbled something behind his beer but eventually nodded. "True. I'm so busted."  
  
The younger Stilinski chuckled shortly from that then looked at his dad as he leaned back on the couch, draping both arms along the back.  
  
"Don't worry, dad. We are working on a plan and will be careful. And finally put an end to this... situation hopefully soon. We are planning on removing our unwanted guests from town. But it's still forming. It's part of the reason we're here too. We... want to go through mom's stuff in the attic in hopes of finding something useful there. We already searched the Hale vault today, which I consider a success."

"I doubt there's anything useful up there," Noah remarked, surprise showing on his face that they wanted to go through that all after this long. "It took me a long time to pack it all up and I gotta admit I didn't look at it all so don't get your hopes up, kiddo. But I guess it'll be good for you."

Stiles hadn't dealt with his mother's death well, both of them had struggled and besides Stiles visiting the grave often, he hadn't talked about Claudia much, in fact he had been the one to pressure his dad into packing it all up. In a drunken moment, the sheriff had done exactly that, shoving all the boxes in the attic to never look at again. Putting the beer down, Noah glanced at Derek who looked as he normally would, whole and healthy, to those who didn't know him.  
  
Stiles didn't comment on his dad's opinion about the boxes, he only exchanged a brief look with Derek. They had agreed not to tell the sheriff how Claudia had essentially saved him from making that mistake in the greenhouse. Stiles didn't want to tear up old wounds and mess up his dad's emotions with that. Especially now when he looked happier and more balanced than Stiles had ever seen him since his mother's death. And they could thank that to Beth, bringing up his dead wife wasn't a good idea in Stiles' opinion. His dad had to worry about a lot already – Including him and Derek. So he just shrugged and sipped from his orange juice.  
  
To the eye of those who did know him, the Hale was paler than usual, looking tired. Same with Stiles though the two did perk up since arriving at the house. Beth meanwhile was too busy noticing anything, having hamster cheeks with the cookie as she was nestled between her dads. "I don't get much of this magic stuff, and I'm not going to pretend that I do but don't ask me not to worry because that's never going to happen."  
  
"We know," Derek said softly, one of the many reasons why they tried not to involve the rest of the small pack too much, since there was much to lose here. Getting Noah involved would end up in heartache, so it was better to be them than innocents getting caught in the crossfire. Patting Beth's hair, the Hale watched her finish her snack and drink as they all chatted about innocent things, focusing on spending time together.  
  
"Daddy dance with me!"  
  
Beth, the clever minx that she was had outed Derek's secret about knowing how to dance and sing by announcing it loudly whenever others dared to say something about being surprised the sourwolf was a dad. She would say he was the bestest because he'd sing and dance with her so now there were attempts of others to get the famed Derek Hale on video like that. They hadn't succeeded yet! The familiar song of ‘Baby Shark’ was put on while Derek and Beth danced and sang to the stupid song, followed by _Frozen_ songs and worse, _Lion King_. The alpha didn't care how it looked, this little girl was laughing and grinning non-stop and that was all that mattered to him in the end.

Lost in thoughts, Stiles watched and laughed on the singing and dancing werewolf duo – and may or may not have sneakily made yet another video of it purely for later blackmailing material for Derek – before he joined in, catching a few moved smiles from his dad.  
  
It was a good way to tire out the little beast so they could put her down to her nap. It was Stiles' time to shine with reading a story for her and he was just half-way through when she fell into a deep sleep. He carefully put the book down and leaned in to press a soft kiss on her forehead before quietly getting up to take Derek's hand in his. For a few minutes they were just standing there in the door, watching their sleeping cub while holding hands.  
  
"I'll definitely will want more of these mini-tornadoes," he whispered to Derek and turned to peck his lips. "So baby-making is back on the schedule," he grinned and patted his mate's chest before slipping out onto the corridor to head towards the attic door.

"ADHD has a high chance of being passed down through the genes so yeah, be prepared for another tornado." Beth was pretty well-behaved for a toddler of her age, though she was exhibiting werewolf behavior with her restlessness and need to explore and there had been a few biting incidents. That was more because of her being too sheltered and the reason why she was going to pre-school now. Beth was adorable, curious, she would tire them out and test their limits but listened when told. Not that they were strict parents.

***

Derek closed the door behind him softly, following Stiles who had opened the door revealing regular stairs instead of them having to clamber through a hatch. If they had to take boxes with them, that was going to be way easier. The attic was the usual dust covered mess a house can have, where standing up was more a manner of keeping the head down. There was some furniture and old toys and plenty of boxes but at least the boxes had labels or writing on them.  
  
"I guess we should put the boxes we looked through over there to the other side so we won't miss one." And they'd clean up the clutter at the same time with that by putting them all together stacked up. Their shoes left steps in the dust, so it was clear there hadn't been anybody up here in years. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

Despite the fact that Stiles didn't like the idea of passing down his ADHD to their kid, there was a chance of it and if they wanted a baby through a surrogate mother in the future, they would have to take that risk. Still, that soft smile stayed on his face as they climbed to the attic. He went to the further end to open the window so they wouldn't cough from the dust their moving around was going to add to the stale air.  
  
"I'm not sure..." Stiles paused there and looked around. He smiled a few times when he recognized long-forgotten furniture and objects from his childhood then zoomed in on the boxes with his dad's handwriting. "I guess we'll know when we find it? Mom only told me that I should go through her stuff," he said with a light frown, walking to the stack, careful not to hit his head on a beam.  
  
He hesitated for a few moments, taking a deep breath. He hadn't seen most of this stuff since after the death of his mom and he was sure there were more things in there he didn't even know existed. Reaching out for the first box, he sighed and opened it up. It was filled with clothes in nylon bags so he set it aside and went for the next.  
  
This wasn't easy for him, just like when he occasionally took out his mom's treasured perfume bottle time after time to smell it and remember her scent. That faint scent hit his nose occasionally when he opened and went through box after box. More clothes, books on gardening, raising kids, romance novels, bags and shoes, a sewing machine and fabrics for clothes...  
  
After a while Stiles was starting to doubt that there was anything useful there, but then...  
  
His hovering hand stopped over a box labeled 'heirlooms'. It had a curious vibe around it. Pulling it closer, it felt heavy whatever was in it. As he opened it, he understood why. There was a wooden trunk in it. It looked dark-brown and worn down. Like something that's been passed down in her family for generations. And there were interesting symbols carved in it. Hovering his hands over it, the magic reacted.  
  
"I think this is it. It contains some magic..." he murmured to Derek and with the wolf pulling the box off and to the side, Stiles lifted and put the trunk on the floor. Stiles' heartbeat picked up in anticipation and suddenly his palms got all sweaty, the fine hairs on the back of his nape standing on end while his skin was tingling there. Fingers itching to touch the wooden surface again, he knelt down in front of the trunk and twisted the rusty key in the lock.  
  
"Here goes nothing..."

Derek mostly closed the boxes Stiles had gone through and put them aside to stack them neatly to create space. It wouldn't feel right if he was the one going through the stuff owned by his mate's mother, especially with the way Stiles would carefully touch whatever was in there, no doubt having many memories. The whiffs of perfume hit his sensitive nose sometimes, and each time Stiles would sit still for a moment to inhale it, slender fingers stroking a book or fabrics. It wasn't often that the Spark was this quiet, not once trying to engage Derek into a conversation.  
  
Not until he found something that might be useful. Apparently something magic even though the werewolf couldn't tell if it was. A box with a key. It could be jewelry or some crystals, it could be nothing as Noah had warned them. Eager hands were lifting the lid and the scent of something powerful warped around them – old and powerful. There were many items in there, like a golden scythe, a hazel tree branch carved with symbols, a silver tree branch with bells tied to it and this leather pouch with a Triskele painted on it. It was mostly looking like a druid's kit, which would make sense since Deaton had hinted at the fact that the Spark must have been inherited from Claudia. But that didn't explain why his family's symbol was part of it. What the hell was going on here?  
  
Puzzled, Derek knelt down next to Stiles to reach for the pouch tentatively in case it decided to give him that feeling of wrongness again. Not the pouch, but definitely the wooden trunk did, though.

"It's made of Rowan," the wolf explained when he pulled his hand back as if he had gotten a shock. As his mate opened the leather pouch, white stones were inside it, clearly made out of bone and into each stone a rune was etched. "Those are stones used with _Seidr_ magic." Stiles' family had druids in the past, powerful druids with ties to where Derek came from as well, tied to the ancient Celts.

The emissary was staring at the pouch in shock and felt compelled to pour its content into his palm. He half-heard what Derek said. "Magic of the telling and shaping of the future?" he murmured, remembering from his studies what that particular kind of magic was in Norse mythology. He wanted to ask more, but the second the bones touched his bare skin, a vivid picture flashed in front of his suddenly amber eyes.  
  
He gasped and let the rune stones drop into the old mortar inside the trunk, the Spark's shimmering irises not being able to look away.  
  
"I... I just saw you. In the future, I think. You... you were emerging from my flames in beta form... to attack our enemies..." he whispered, still breathing heavier. He had no idea how he had ended on his butt or how long it took him to see that picture. It felt only like a second to him, but maybe... judged by Derek's frown... it might have been a bit longer. "What the hell?" Stiles blinked questioningly at his mate then took a closer look at the pouch, running a finger on the golden triskelion on it. "It's your family's insignia. What... is it doing here with my mom's stuff?" he asked all confused.  
  
Of course, he remembered Deaton mentioning that his mother had the potential to become a Spark and Emissary, but chose a normal life to have an unsuspecting husband and him. And it wasn't a coincidence either that his mom's ghost wanted him to search the attic. She wanted Stiles to find this trunk.

Sometimes they really shouldn't touch objects that already screamed magic just from looking at them. That was the thought going through Derek's head when Stiles had completely zoned out with the stones in his hand, plopping down on the floor heavily with that eerie blank look in his eyes. His first concerned calling of his name hadn't resulted in anything and he hadn't dared to touch so he had waited, hovering. It had been about two minutes tops but it had felt like it lasted a lifetime before the human was back in the now with a few blinks, the eyes refocusing.  
  
"I don't know, Stiles. None of it makes sense. Why would you see me when you touch old stones hidden in the attic?" The Hale had never seen those in his life so he couldn't say why his family's insignia was on it. The only one who was able to answer that was Claudia but she hadn't shown herself anymore, probably needing time to have enough energy. He didn't know where ghosts went but they didn't always show, sometimes they were just _gone_. However, it wasn't that the Hales had the lone rights to the insignia. "Triskelle is from the Celts, so it's probable that this has nothing to do with my family."  
  
Probably. He wasn't sure what to think about their 'fates' being intertwined long before they had even been born, as if they were some sort of prophecy. Because that would suggest their attraction had been for some greater purpose and Derek didn't like that thought. They were together because they made more sense together, because life was better with Stiles in it. Not because this was bound to happen. Stiles knew how Derek felt about fate, but he had to admit that this was going to need some more looking into.  
  
"Whatever we'll find out, it's not going to change anything between us."

"I don't know either why I saw you. And why would anything change things between us? We love each other and there's that. Nothing can come between us like that," he said with a serious look in his eyes, the irises still slightly glowing. Then with a small smile he turned back to the trunk and took a deep breath. He carefully, one by one, put the rune stones back into the pouch, glad that this time no other images flashed in front of his eyes.  
  
After taking a closer look of each item, he carefully put them on the floor next to him. "These have old magic attached to them. Ritualistic magic. But they weren't used for a long time. Or at least that's what I'm picking up from their vibes," he told Derek and reached for the last object in the trunk.  
  
It was a folded piece of red cloth with a golden pattern. Curious, Stiles unfolded the aged fabric to reveal another Celtic symbol. "A Triquetra?" he asked with a light frown. "Another trinity. Similar to the Triskelion. It has many meanings throughout the different religions but if you ask me, since it is very likely Druid, I'd say it symbolizes the earth, sky and sea or body, mind and soul. A unity. I read that it was used in many rituals so I'm guessing this is a ritualistic cloth," he concluded, gently folding it back as it was.

  


Stiles was about to start putting the objects back into the trunk when he noticed an irregularity at the bottom. He was lucky to notice it in the half-lit attic, but it definitely caught his attention. He stroked his finger along it and used his phone's flashlight function to take a closer look. "A false bottom!" he exclaimed excited and tried to find a way to open it. As he stroked his fingers along the bottom, he noticed the same Triquetra symbol's tiny version carved in one corner and as his fingertip touched it, a spark sizzled down from his finger into it, making it light up for a second.  
  
With wide eyes Stiles watched and listened as the false bottom made a clicking sound and moved to the side enough for him to stick his finger in and lift it. He gasped for air when he found another book. It had a soft red leather-bound cover, a leather-string from the same color keeping it closed. There was no title or marking either on the front or the side. His fingers hesitated for a moment over it before he finally lifted it out from its place.  
  
His heart skipped a few beats in anticipation as he sat back on his ass and turned half-way to Derek with it, rubbing the leather with his thumb, that curious prickling back on his skin as he was holding the book. It wasn't really magic like with the black book they had found in the vault. No, it was softer and a more personal kind of vibe and Stiles just knew to whom this belonged.  
  
With slightly trembling fingers he opened the string and then the book too. He only had to take a glimpse at the front page, the curls of the letters written there, and he knew he was right. Picking up the small long-dried four-leaf clover, he felt tears welling up in his eyes.  
  
"It was my mother's diary..." he whispered hoarsely. "This was the very first clover with four leaves that I had managed to find for her as a little boy. I didn't know she kept it... Did you know they say they bring luck?" he chuckled wetly as the first teardrops, which he's been holding back since they opened the first box, finally fell onto his jeans-clad thighs.

Some things hidden weren't magical or dangerous, sometimes they were personal, too personal for it to fall in the wrong hands. Obviously this diary had been placed there for Stiles. Maybe Claudia had known he had the same kind of Spark in him as she had. Or maybe it worked like the Hale vault's lock did, where it somehow recognized the claws of a Hale and would only open for them. Either way, this was meant for Stiles and Derek wasn't going to ask what was in it unless Stiles wanted to share it. He fully trusted his mate to tell him whatever was important to need to know.  
  
"Yeah, I know." Reaching out, Derek's hand clasped Stiles by the back of his neck, caressing the nape with his fingers. It was an encouragement to either keep going or to let the tears fall or both. Or nothing at all, it was up to Stiles, Derek was here for support and give him whatever he needed. "It worked for her, she had you." That made Stiles smile.

Unfortunately a clover wouldn't help against the disease she had and from the little he knew, it hadn't been easy for the Stilinski family to watch her deteriorate so rapidly. He only knew the fear when they all had thought Stiles had the same illness, the long wait in the hospital with Scott and the devastating result the scan had given. The idea of Stiles soon not remembering who they were, it had been a scary one. Maybe even scarier than the truth of the Nogitsune.  
  
"I'm sure if you want to keep some of her things, your dad won't mind." Some clothes maybe, besides the chest, though it didn't seem like there had been anything with it all packed up except for the current box. Derek had no idea about keeping personal items since he hadn't held onto them since the fire. It had been easier not to have something worth losing. He had stopped treasuring objects but he could understand why others felt the need for it, especially items linked to familiar scents.

Taking a few ragged breaths while the tears kept falling, Stiles closed his eyes and leaned into the caresses of the big hand. Its warmth was just as grounding to him as always and he felt grateful for Derek's support. He was glad he had his mate with him right now and he let Derek feel that through their connection.  
  
"I know. He won't mind and I believe this was left for me anyways," he sniffed and wiped his eyes and face into his Henley's sleeve, trying to collect himself as he put the clover back into the book, tying it closed with the leather string. "I'll read it later," he added and started carefully packing everything back into the trunk. What he didn't say was that right now he couldn't handle reading his mother's thoughts, even if he was curious what was in the diary. "We'll definitely take this trunk to the loft and into the greenhouse. I'll do some research on the objects or maybe there's going to be something about them in the diary."  
  
It was a long and emotional day for sure and it was still just early in the afternoon. But Stiles wanted out of the attic to breathe some fresh air and pull himself together emotionally too. So with Derek's assistance the trunk went back into the box and after getting one or two more items from his mom's stuff, they moved what they needed to their room to be picked up tomorrow when they actually had a car with them. By now the assholes at the school had to have figured out that they weren't there anyway and they are going to have to get the Camaro from there too.

They didn't leave the Stilinski house until Beth was awake so they could hug her tightly and say goodbye again, which was hard on them both. She cried, they... cried on the inside but it was for her own good. This was to keep her safe, hopefully there was an end to it in a few days at the most. Not seeing her had made it easier in a way and harder. None of this was a good thing and they both already had too many rough days lately. The boxes were left at the house, because they had some training left and no doubt by the time they'd be at the loft, they weren't going to be up for the research anymore.  
  



	7. 18: If You Dare – Part 7

**18: If You Dare – Part 7**

Not having a car was challenging, because the distillery, where Derek had figured they were able to train best, was remote. Which was why it was perfect to train. By the time they had reached it, it was later in the afternoon, but there was some time before it would get dark. There was no electricity here anymore, that had been cut off a long time ago. The building was left to fend itself against nature since most kids left it alone so it wasn't a dangerous building and taking it down would cost money. It was going to sustain some damage today – that was for sure.  
  
"I think here we can train without being worried. Just duck if something collapses," Derek eyed the ceiling. It looked sturdy enough but who knows what they were going to be able to do? If Stiles' flash was some kind of a vision, then it meant the alpha was supposed to learn how to work with the magic to create some kind of super werewolf like their current enemy was too.  
  
"Do we have an idea how to... start this?" The runes were there, but Derek didn't know how to access them yet.

"I'm not sure..." Stiles admitted as they were standing opposite each other in the big empty space, his voice slightly echoing as he scratched his head. When they got there, he warded off the building from unwanted company. "Since it's a mostly dormant protection and activates in case of attacks, maybe I should try attacking you. We could do some hand-to-hand combat then I could use magic to attack you. Even if I hate the idea of attacking you in general," he smirked. It was clearly because of the mate bond and love for his wolf and familiar, but it was not a real attack and the stirring magic 'knew' that.  
  
They had to train and test out what the new rune tattoos could do on Derek in order to protect him. Although Stiles guessed that they might really show their strength in the face of real danger. Like Zepar and his coward helpers.  
  
"You know they are there on your thigh. But you have to also _know_ that they can protect you. My magic's big part is belief. So I think you should think of the runes like an impenetrable and invisible armor around your whole body. I also think you'll feel it when they activate. Zepar's were glowing on his skin when he was trying to withstand my magic. I think they will do the same just in amber on your thigh. Not that anyone will see that, but you'll probably feel some burning or something there," Stiles explained, trying to think of everything.  
  
"And I believe if that flash in the attic was a peek into the future, then we should start working more seriously with my flames too. You are already familiar with them and don't fear me anymore. What I saw while touching the rune stones... You were working with the magic, using it as cover and was in the middle of a surprise attack. You looked majestic and hot," he grinned with a dreamy expression on his face but then blinked a few times to refocus on their task at hand.

Sparring was not the same as an actual attack, it was good for learning certain moves, but there was a chance the runes weren't going to activate. They had spend the last days training for Derek to _not_ see Stiles' magic as a threat so there was a chance the sparring wasn't going to be as effective as they were hoping it to be. But they were here and they should try. It sounded easy enough to believe in the shield to work, it would work. And if there was one thing Derek firmly believed in, it was Stiles and his capability with magic. To werewolves, magic wasn't that unthinkable. It was part of their world, part of their whole being even if it wasn't anything like what Stiles was using.  
  
"You need to give it your best shot, make your intent to attack known or I doubt it's going to work. I've gotten too comfortable with you." Stiles running towards him, even with some form of a weapon wouldn't make him think _attack_. It would probably be more along the same lines as his mate was thinking when he said Derek was hot in his vision. They were incorrigible in that and it made the wolf smirk. Terrible lovesick teenagers, that's what they were like and it was so sickening. And Derek loved it.  
  
Working with Stiles' magic, that shouldn't be as hard as it sounded. The magic was often inside Derek, it was almost part of him too so instead of having it on the inside, it was going to be on the outside. What he didn't know was how he was going to use the flames. They were going to have to work together seamlessly to match all their movements fluently so it would be the same as breathing to them when they were in a situation that required them to attack others. Or fend off attacks.  
  
"Okay, stop daydreaming about my unquestionable hotness and give me your best shot."

"Okay, fine, fiiiine!" Stiles sighed dramatically and closed his eyes, curling his hands into fists as he let some of the magic go, focusing it into his hands which soon began to glow. The amber veins ran up along his forearms and the glowing got denser the closer they were to his fists. The more he focused his magic there, the brighter they shone until at some point they burst out into his magical flames. As he opened his eyes when he felt the enhanced strength in his fists and arms, they were glowing in the same color too as they focused on Derek.  
  
He had to put his intent into attacking his mate, to see him as the enemy and not his lover and pair. It wasn't easy, but Stiles' mind was good at compartmentalizing so he used that skill to make this actually work. Instead of them ending up on the dusty floor making out and possibly fucking.  
  
Then he was on the move, faster than one might expect from a human. A perk of being a Spark and mated to an alpha werewolf.  
  
When he got close enough, he swung his fist in the air in an attempt to land a hit in Derek's undeniably handsome and hot face. And he didn't hold back, even if it was entirely possible that the alpha would dodge it. It didn't matter if he did since they were there to engage in a hand-to-hand combat anyway.

There had never been much time to appreciate Stiles when he was lightening up like a Christmas tree due to his magic, because either it was mid-ritual and Derek had been too high, or out of it thanks to injuries. Or they were having sex and there were other things on the mind. So right now, he was watching the way the magic lit up the skin, like flowing fiery veins cracking the skin before it all flamed up to the fire he did know from their training before. The eyes had colored golden with a red hue to them, nothing like the yellow from a beta in shift. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and Derek's mind had been more on the fucking part like his mate's had been not long ago. It made him distracted enough to watch Stiles run towards him without moving.  
  
The fist was swung towards him and his first instinct was to dodge. He could have, easily, because Stiles wasn't a fighter and the way he held his body meant Derek would be able to make him lose his balance with a swipe of his feet. But that wasn't the goal of this exercise. The idea was to let the runes block the danger of what was coming and take the hit, block it. So he took the attack.  
  
See, the runes worked, kind of, the magic wasn't doing damage but the fist did. Which was completely his own fault for having sex on the mind _after_ scolding Stiles about it. It hit him full on, made him stumble backwards as his head was slammed in that direction before he stumbled to the ground. Maybe he should revise his idea of Stiles not being a fighter because _what the hell was that_? Wiping at his nose with the back of his hand, it smeared a little red.  
  
"Remind me not to piss you off." A grin had formed on Derek’s face, he appreciated a good scuffle. "It blocks the magic automatically but my mind wasn't on the full attack. Let's try this again."

Stiles' first reaction was a worried look, but Derek's words put a smug smirk on his face pretty quickly as he shook out his still flaming hand then curled it back into a fist and took a defensive stance, hands held up in front of him like boxers do.  
  
"As much as I don't like attacking my own mate, you better remember that now I can land a few mean punches thanks to the magic," he winked at Derek. "What was on your mind that managed to distract you this much?" he asked curiously and waited only until Derek was back on his feet before he attacked again.  
  
He didn't want to give too much time for his mate to prepare so Stiles used the combat skills drilled into his mind and muscles at the academy. The moves came back easily enough, plus this wasn't the first time they did this with Derek. They had trained like this before to keep in shape and prepare for any danger that might come their way. Now that danger was here at their doorstep, so to say, they had to find a way to eliminate it.

"It's good that the magic automatically gets blocked but try to focus on making the impact of the fist getting blocked too. Like... try to make it repel my fist," he instructed fast before he swung his fist again.

"You don't want to know what was on my mind." Nor did Derek need to give much of an explanation because Stiles was coming at him after instructing him. It was... kind of funny to have Stiles tell him what to do in order to protect himself when it was usually the other way around. At least the werewolf had learned to be a better teacher instead of tossing his betas around in the hopes of them learning something with the violence he had thrown at them like a wrestling coach. And once he became a father, he had also learned to be patient, to not let his frustration get the better of him. He always wanted to learn to be better and wouldn't turn down the chance at it, no matter who the lesson came from.  
  
This time he did duck the fist, needing to get into the flow of a fight in order for him to get a feel of the magic that had been tattooed on his body. As a born wolf, he was very in tune with his own body and he did feel the difference there, the way the runes kind of stung like a paper cut, as if his body was readying itself to use the runes. Stiles came at him with his fist again, Derek not stopping him, forcing himself not to duck nor attack but to block like a shield. This time the magic didn't simply flicker out when it hit the protection, he could almost feel it, he could almost pull at it.  
  
And the fist had hit, but not him. It felt like he had a rubber suit on or something. The hit connected in a way but it was like a little jolt and nothing more. Which was a good thing because if it hadn't worked, his nose would have been broken with the way the fist had been aimed at him. It made him think they should spar sometimes again, for fun, because it looked like Stiles still knew some moves Derek haven’t seen from him before and he would make a great sparring partner. Ducking away, Derek grabbed at the wrist of his mate and forced his arm behind his back before letting him go.  
  
"I felt your magic, like I could pull it. Did you feel it?"

Stumbling for a moment on a breathy laugh, Stiles turned around to face Derek again, drawing in a few deep breaths. They've been at it for a few minutes by then and it made some sweat break out on his brow. After all, despite the fact that he was stronger than a mere human, he was still a human and Derek was – as expected – a formidable sparring opponent.  
  
But Stiles was pleased with the progress they made. The runes were working as they were supposed to and clearly Derek was starting to get used to them and a hang of how to use it willingly.  
  
"Yes, I think I did. And you're getting a hang of this quickly," he smirked satisfied at his mate. "I also think that you could pull on the magic since it's a part of you too. Essentially you should be able to wield it to some extent. Not as much as I do, but since we're connected and there's a big amount in you too, it should work. Like when I pull magic from you while doing a bigger spell. Like when I chased that asshole away. Maybe we should step this up to see what happens," he grinned at the alpha and concentrated on letting the magical flames spread through his aura, surrounding him.  
  
The last time Derek saw him fully covered like this was on that same night too, back when he feared him. But since then they had made great progress with Derek accepting the magic and the flames as part of Stiles' being. So it shouldn't be a problem once he gave his mate a moment or two to get used to the sight.  
  
"Remember, it's just me," he reminded his mate. What he didn't say this time though was the fact that the amber flames wouldn't hurt Derek. It was true, because Stiles' intention wasn't there to burn his soul mate. But he had to make his next attack look and feel real enough for Derek to step up his own game too. So he flung himself into another attack, curious what will happen next.

A hang of it quickly? Derek scoffed at that because it was going to need more than a training session for it to be part of his fighting skills. It wouldn't work unless he kept his head fully focused on it and that's where the problem lied. In a fight there was so much happening, he couldn't be single-minded, that's what always made him go wrong in the past, because anger had blinded him. But for a first time, this wasn't a bad result for it to work one out of two, which admittedly didn't say much yet. Stiles seemed to be impressed enough to up the stakes, though.  
  
At first he wanted to protest, not sure if he was ready for that yet, however it wasn't as if there was time to get him ready so he closed his mouth again and nodded. Right, let's see what happens…  
  
What happened was Stiles being on fire, literally. There were flames everywhere, covering him from head to toe, making Derek want to put them out, to not see his mate like that. It was just Stiles. He wasn't in agony, he wasn't actually burning up, and now that Derek wasn't frantically in panic, he could see the flames were different from real ones. Taking a deep breath, the Hale chased away the feelings of how wrong it was to see Stiles like that, the tremor disappearing from his body. Which was all the time he got, because Stiles knew exactly when to strike so Derek didn't get much time to prepare and he had to react on instinct. How could he not when there was a flaming body running straight at him, yelling and breathing so much anger it startled him into action?  
  
It felt real enough, alright. Taking the hit, the Hale imagined himself pulling pain, the feeling of taking something from others by touch, and instead of pain, he focused on the magic. What happened next wasn't what he thought would happen, though. The magic was Stiles', was theirs so it didn't bounce off the shield, it went right through it, swirling around him, fueling him and his strength, stoking up the fire within him. It was like being supercharged. With a roar, he threw the energy along with his body, narrowly avoiding Stiles as Derek hit the large metal kettle there. It didn't just dent. No. It was demolished, it collapsed into itself with a burning hole in it, taking down the entire rig around it as well in a deafening noise that was endless.  
  
Derek's eyes hadn't been red, they had been lava, flaming lava like the rest of him.

Stiles stared at his mate with his jaw dropped then swirled around to watch the destruction. He put his hand on his knees as he leaned forward to catch his breath and then just grinned wide, ignoring the deafening noise as much as possible.  
  
"Wow! Didn't expect that," he panted amazed and quite shocked but at the same time so fucking proud of Derek. "Yeah... it seems you did get a hang of this! This is awesome! And huge! Derek!" he chuckled happily. "It's like the wave of my flames overcharged you and you could harness that power!" he glanced at Derek who was standing next to him. "I could feel you pulling from the magic before you threw it! You're gonna be good at this..." he reached out to pat a muscular arm and wiped his brow. His flames have retreated meanwhile, leaving only his eyes glowing in the usual amber light. "You were on fire too and your eyes had the same color as mine. This is so cool! We're going to kick ass with you being protected and able to harness the magic!" he babbled on, still in some disbelief and getting over-excited. "Think about the possibilities! Obviously it'll need a lot of work, but it's going to be a powerful weapon in our repertoire!" he straightened up and went to hug his mate. "I'm so proud of you!"  
  
This was indeed much more than Stiles expected during their first magical training. So much more! Because if Derek was going to be able to use the magic like this, how Stiles saw in that strange vision in the attic, then their foes will have reason to fear them and perhaps avoid confrontations with them. It's also going to be an effective way to protect themselves and the town if they are going to be foolish enough to pick on them. Like Zepar and his minions...

Derek was panting as well, it had taken a lot out of both of them since they weren't used to it, but that was something they would be able to practice. Stamina was always something to increase. Until this was as much part of them as breathing was. Obviously these kinds of attacks couldn't happen without Stiles, who was the caster, while Derek had only channeled it, but in such a way it had added to his own powers. Catching his breath, he glanced at Stiles sideways while he was babbling excitedly, because yeah, it obviously needed a lot of work. He had meant to punch the kettle, not demolish it along with the whole rig or even punch a freaking hole in it. This was like asking a giant to thread a normal sized needle. It was going to need a lot of work to be able to control it in moderation.  
  
Wiping at his face and only smearing soot there, the wolf aired his shirt because it was sticking to his body like they had done a heavy work out. Stiles didn't care, he went for a hug, since they were both wet from sweat. Derek hugged him back by wrapping one arm around the slim waist.

"How are you feeling? If it took a lot out of me, you must feel it too since I used your magic."  
  
It hadn't drained fully since they haven't used it all. On cue, his stomach rumbled, making him laugh. Even werewolf stomachs weren't able to deal with the magic drain. No wonder, Stiles had to eat nearly 24/7 since the energy all burned away so quickly. "I guess we should head back." With all the walking, the human was going to be exhausted by the time they will reach the loft. "Or I can sprint to get the car. We need food."

Not caring about the sweat or dirt on them, Stiles leaned into the hug pleased and with a satisfied smile, basking in his mate's attention, touch and concern for him. "I'm fine, just a bit exhausted because we used a bigger amount than I thought we would. But nothing too draining. And we'll practice to do this in smaller, more controlled doses. We'll kick ass!" he repeated, obviously still elated from their success. He pressed a quick kiss against the soft lips then wiped the smudge off Derek's face.  
  
"I could eat too. Though no news flash there, I can usually eat hourly," he snorted then tilted his head to the side for a moment, clearly thinking over their options. "If there wasn't a threat in town, I'd say you should get the car and meet me half-way on the road somewhere or that I'd take a shortcut through the forest, but since we have stalkers, I doubt splitting up is a good idea. So chop, chop! We have a long walk back to the school before we can fill up our bellies," he sighed but then smiled and took Derek's hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he tugged him towards the exit, taking one last glance at the destroyed kettle.  
  
"Remind me not to piss you off too badly," he grinned teasingly and squeezed Derek's hand in his as they left the building for that long walk.

"Oh, it took you until _now_ to notice that?" Derek shot back easily, pleased with feeling their hands interlocked as they walked. The stalkers could follow them around again now, the boxes were secure with Noah for now and they had done their training.


	8. 18: If You Dare – Part 8

**18: If You Dare – Part 8**

The walk back was pretty much the same as before. They took short cuts and back roads and had to get through the school again to get to the car. In case some of their watchers were still on the roof assuming they were in the vault all the time. They might have to pull this trick more often and so Derek didn't want to give it away yet, even though it was a hassle to take the detour.  
  
They were sweaty and covered by soot so it could be mistaken for them taking advantage of being alone in the vault to have sex. To make it seem even more like that, he ruffled their hair to make it stick out a little more and look like there was an attempt to make it look normal.

"Drive through? We need a lot of carbs to make up for some of the loss." The vault closed behind them and the jeep was right where they had left it, no scents added so the alpha hadn't messed with it or had gotten close to it.  
  
"I think we need to change your diet if this is normal for you. You burn more than you can eat." Werewolves did too but to them that wasn't a problem. They could go without food for much longer than a human body could. But no wonder Stiles was getting so skinny. Derek's face told Stiles that the werewolf was going to be all over it, more than he had already. The werewolf settled into the passenger's seat, not even asking if he could drive, they had that discussion a few times already. Apparently he ground the gears too much, or so his mate claimed, forever protective of his Roscoe.  
  
As if Derek didn't know how to drive stick-shift. Pffft.

Looking at his mate as he buckled up, Stiles rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, I agree to the change in diet only because you are right about me burning through food faster than I can eat." It was true. Since their mating and his Spark being really ignited and all the sex and stress in their lives, he did loose quite a few pounds and he wasn't comfortable with that as well as he didn't want to worry his mate and dad by getting sickly thin. He was still in the okay if someone asked him, but yes, it couldn't continue like this. Derek had a point when saying that Stiles' clothes looked better on Derek than the human himself.  
  
"Drive thru it is! I need my burgers and curly fries!" he beamed, not at all bothered by the 'just after sex' facade they had to put up to maintain their cover. Though he cleaned their faces with some wet wipes from the glove compartment.  
  
There was some spluttering when Stiles had retrieved the wet wipes and had grabbed Derek's chin to clean his face because being 'momed' like that was new to him. Nobody had dared to mom him before and his glare and pout said as much. Which of course his mate had ignored with a cackle to clean his own face in the mirror, gaining a heavy eyeroll in the process.  
  
Then he began driving in a pretty good mood, humming along to the songs on the radio.  
  
"You think they suspect anything?" he asked after a few minutes just when he pulled up to a McDonald’s and stopped behind the car in front of them.

"Yeah, I'm sure they do. Zepar's no idiot but since they have nothing to prove it with, they're out of luck." He had a feeling the other alpha would only be amused by it. It seemed like all of this was more a game to him, something he had to play and enjoyed to a degree because the game had begun anyways. The question was: was Zepar a pawn or the hand making the moves?  
  
Derek didn't bother reading the menu of the drive through, Stiles would ramble an order anyways. He knew what the alpha liked and was the resident specialist on all things junk food. He was fine leaning back in his seat to watch the human being in a good mood, long fingers tapping along the music and an elbow on the rolled down window so he could lean his head on his hand. It revealed a long neck, especially when Stiles leaned into the speaker to ramble off their order, whiskey-colored eyes glancing back at Derek in case he'd protest and wanted something else. Of course, he had to wink too as they were waiting and the wolf's stomach was back to flutter mode. Just like that.  
  
It was ridiculous how in love he was with this man. One wink and Derek was a puddle in his seat. At least Stiles was used to Derek not being the talkative one and happily rambled on while Derek dug out his wallet and handed it over to his mate while they drove to the next window. Soon he got a lap full of richly smelling bags of hot food as well as his wallet.

"You ordered me the hot apple pie." He could smell it above everything else. Derek _loved_ the hot apple pie they fried in batter. And Stiles knew it well. Simple things, of course they knew their likes and dislikes but… it still moved him into a stupid grin.

Driving out back into traffic, Stiles grinned at Derek briefly before refocusing on the road. "Of course I did. Two pieces for you, one for me!" he shrugged, knowing how much Derek liked that dessert (no wonder Beth had a bad sweet tooth too...). "I thought you heard it while I ordered. Where was your mind?" he lightly frowned as he took a turn to the left and parked at the edge of a park.  
  
Of course, he felt Derek getting all soft and romantic while ordering, but he didn't point that out just basked in it. There were such moments for both of them. When they realized over and over again how much they loved each other and such. Which was – according to the books and Deaton – a very natural thing not just for mates but for people in love in general too.  
  
"My mind was on you. I didn't pay attention to what you ordered." Admittedly, it was a tactic Derek used sometimes around his mate because he loved Stiles, he really did. But the human had a tendency to go into these long rants or babbles and they were mainly for Stiles to get some of his frustration or excitement out, and it wasn't really meant for Derek personally. Because he didn't want to hear about some Easter eggs in Harry Potter movies but he didn't want to keep Stiles from venting either so he'd nod along and watch him instead. They can have long discussions about the X-men and Avengers and Star Wars. They can have heated arguments about the merits of certain crystals or deep talks about certain myths and their feelings. But sometimes Derek just... didn't listen when he knew he didn't have to.  
  
"Come on, big guy! Let's have some romantic twilight dinner," Stiles chuckled and reached right into Derek's lap with an outright dirty look to open... one of the bags and get himself his curly fries. Luckily – for now – he didn't feel like being followed so maybe they can actually have a peaceful dinner in the Jeep, watching the last colors of the sunset paint the horizon.  
  
The bags were kept in Derek’s lap because of the stupid leer Stiles shot him each time he got frisky with their food. They were like kids at times, shamelessly so. Derek's fries were the usual French ones without ketchup and the Hale busied himself with those as he watched Stiles stuff his mouth full while his eyes were on the slowly disappearing sun.

"You take me to all the romantic places," Derek deadpanned as he opened the lid to his shake so he could dip the fries in. Him having a sweet tooth? Nah, never. Or so he claimed out loud while loading up daily on sugary intake like cookies or pie or ice cream. The only thing he did take without sugar was his coffee and that was what he used to deny it.  
  
Maybe that's why he was so hungry for Stiles, because he was always tasting like sugar and cinnamon. Well, he was definitely in a mood, because he was getting all heart-eyes again while watching the human attempting to get a handful of fries in his mouth.

"Well, what did you expect? I'm the master of romantic gestures!" Stiles snorted and dipped some of his curly fries into Derek's shake. If anyone else than he or Beth tried that, they'd get death glares and maybe even a punch in the face, but Stiles was an exception. And he loved that. And the heart-eyed looks and warm feelings from his mate. But instead of commenting on it, he stuffed the dipped fries into his mouth too with another wink and leaned back in his seat with a happy little sound.  
  
Derek wasn't a fan of sharing his food, or even eating when others were around. He remembered one time he and Isaac had been sharing a pizza and Scott had barged in, looking all surprised because he had managed to catch Derek eating. Apparently many of them thought he never ate or lived on bunnies he caught out in the woods, which surprise, he wasn't. He was a private person, eating was a private thing he didn't want to be commented on. And of course, when he had heard about bets being made on what he ate, back then, he made certain to keep it hidden on purpose, the teens never realizing they were being trolled. He had gotten better at sharing. Well, kind of. At least Stiles and Beth were free to take off his plate so he didn't blink when Stiles dipped into the shake.  
  
"You know...” Stiles started. “Despite an eventful and we can say successful day, I have to admit that I missed this. Just the two of us spending time together. Eating, watching the sunset. Like on a date. It's been a while since we were on a real date night."  
  
With all the shit they had to deal with lately, it was no wonder. For a while – after Derek's insanity nearly completely took over or when Derek nearly died, twice – there were times when Stiles doubted that they'd ever have such moments again.  
  
"I love it," he admitted, looking through the windshield as he absently licked his fingers clean one by one from the salt then reached into Derek's lap to... retrieve his burger. And boy, he was happy that he had no 'no eating in the car' rule, because this was so much more fun than doing it while sitting on a bench in the park.

"I'd like to have a normal date with you some day. Do stupid things like bowling or miniature golf and whatever else is out there. Go see a movie and eat stale popcorn while you talk during the entire thing and steal sips from my large coke." Their dates have been stolen moments like these, and sure, they had made the best out of situations like shopping and such, had made it their own so it had felt like dates but… it wasn't the same and Derek was aware of that. Stiles deserved cheesy dates.  
  
Right now though, Derek's mind wasn't on dates, his mind was on the way Stiles licked at his fingers and sucked them clean of the salt, which did things to what was hiding under the bags of food. It happily twitched when Stiles reached for his burger and Derek had to remind himself to eat instead of staring at the human taking a big bite out of the juicy burger. Watching Stiles eat was like watching porn.  
  
Shifting a little, Derek plucked at his fries before ditching them in the bag to get his own burger. It was a simple cheeseburger which he could eat within a few bites so he could be done with it and go back to watching Stiles lost in eating.

While chewing and concentrating extra hard on keeping the burger in one piece and the salad pieces at least in the wrapper instead of his lap, Stiles hummed and managed to lick some sauce from the corner of his mouth without biting off his tongue.  
  
"I'd really love any of those dates," he agreed with a dreamy look on his face as he swallowed. "You just made me realize that we really haven't been on any classical dates. Well, if we don't count the times we cooked at my old house and in the loft or the engagement, I think we only ever been on one date. Which wasn't traditional in the slightest... well, okay, we had the sex on the backseat cliche," he snorted with a small smile before he took another huge bite, making his cheeks bulge like a chipmunk's.  
  
"We could like..." he paused and chewed faster, realizing that his mouth was too full to talk and eat at the same time without spitting pieces all over the place. So he picked up his coke from the cup holder and helped wash the food down with some of the soda. "So... we could like go to a Star Wars marathon when they play them again. Or watch some superhero or sappy chick flick on a late night screening. Or just go out for a real dinner. Not like this," he gestured with his free hand around, meaning them eating in the car at a park still sweaty and dirty from their training. "Don't get me wrong, I love these too, but yeah, you get my drift..." he shrugged and finally managed to stuff the last big bite into his mouth.  
  
"Aren't you eating your pies?" he raised a brow in a minute, his tongue chasing the straw a bit before he caught it and sucked on it. He thought that by now Derek was going to be enjoying the apple pies he loved so much.

"What?"  
  
Right, the apple pies, he had forgotten about those because he had been too busy watching Stiles being Stiles. It was ridiculous because it wasn't as if his mate would eat sensually to make it like porn, he pretty much just stuffed his mouth as full as possible. He'd only stop talking if his mouth was too full and there was danger of spraying it everywhere but only then, and his cheeks would bulge with how full they were. He'd lick his fingers between bites and then would happily touch everything with his messy fingers and he drank his soda by chasing after the straw with his tongue, taking it in deep to suck while food was still in his mouth and would wash it all down. Stiles was one of the messiest eaters Derek knew, and yet the wolf was mesmerized by him.  
  
And incredibly turned on to the point of it being a too noticeable problem if there were no bags to hide it.  
  
Screw it. Derek leaned sideways to crowd Stiles against the door, taking the large soda away from him to put in the cup holder. He eagerly kissed the now empty mouth, which still tasted like burger and cola, his tongue licking into the moist cavern to explore. Apple pie be damned, he was hungry for Stiles only.

Stiles would've lied if he didn't notice Derek's horny vibes. Hell, he could even smell the arousal even over the heavy smell of fast food. But he was too preoccupied with silencing his bottomless stomach and daydreaming about dates.  
  
So he was a bit surprised when the werewolf made his move on him and he found his mouth full of tongue instead of food in the next moment. He might or might not have made a surprised little squeaking sound as his back hit the door with a light thud and he heard the bags tumbling off Derek's lap. Not that he had any chance of commenting on it because he was too busy melting into the hungry kiss.  
  
God, how he'd missed it when Derek initiated things and showing how crazy he was for him! It always made that warm feeling quickly spread through his chest. Dropping the empty burger wrapper onto the floor, he cupped Derek's cheek with one hand, fingers raking through the dark hair. His other hand held onto a shoulder as he opened his mouth more for his mate and kissed him back just as passionately, loving how the stubble was rubbing against his chin and mouth, making his skin tingle just as much as Derek's scent and closeness did.

For a moment Derek thought Stiles wasn't into it when he froze in surprise, but it didn't last long. The muscles relaxed against him and Stiles started to kiss him back just as eagerly. It wasn't as if they were in the parking lot of the McDonald's, it was a park and it wasn't crowded since it was dinner time. Even if it was, chances were Derek wouldn't be holding back anyways, because he was too eager to taste his mate.  
  
Their kiss was frantic and deep, the wolf's hands going to the human's shirt to slide under the fabric, getting at naked skin. So warm and sweaty, it felt good to let them roam, the scent of his unwashed mate only more of an enticement to keep going. He tugged the shirt up a little so he could get at the nipples, feeling like a man possessed which was all Stiles' fault.  
  
Clearly eating wasn't something they should do together, it would end up in sex all the time even though he scolded the other for losing weight. Stiles was never going to put anything on if they kept at it like this. He'll make Stiles eat both apple pies to make up for it.

Stiles' head got dizzy in record time from his mate's carnal hunger for him and the hands on his body, his nipples hardening fast and a moan slipped him. His cock was definitely taking interest in what was going on regardless of the 'where'. Since Derek's latest resurrection they've been quite busy with recovering and trying to train and figure out a plan that would push out Zepar and his minions from town to get all hands on with each other. Now that seemed to show...  
  
"Derek..." Stiles whispered hoarsely, his hands caressing the already messy hair and the slightly damp fabric of the other man's shirt on his broad back. And wow, his jeans got suddenly waaaay to uncomfortable and tight. "What... what are you doing? We're in the park... Someone can... see us. THEY can see us..." he chuckled, not really making any attempts to push the horny werewolf off him because every touch and kiss felt so damn good. And boy, who did turn on the heat in the car? Because all of a sudden in felt several degrees hotter in there.

"Don't care," Derek muttered against the tempting lips, not even peeking around them to make sure they were alone. There were no sounds that would indicate there were people close enough for a werewolf to pick up on. There were cars passing by on the road, sure, but they weren't able to see into the front of the car with how it was parked facing the park. Yes, THEY could see them, but with how they had been watched for a while now, they probably had seen more than either human or wolf would be happy with. It was too late to have modesty around their stalkers. Let them watch.  
  
He leaned in closer, the seat creaking as it had to handle the weight of two males now, and he licked a strip of skin in his mate's neck. It was salty, the taste of sweat and dust hitting his tongue as he nibbled his way upwards to an earlobe. "I want you, don't want to wait." It was a heated whisper in the ear before he sucked at the lobe, his fingers plucking at a hardened nipple.  
  
It was dinner time, it was still light out since the sun hadn't disappeared yet, but it was on it's way. Soon people were going to come out for their evening jogs and walk their dogs, soon they weren't going to be alone so Derek knew they couldn't do it here.

Stiles' eyes rolled back into his head and he gasped from all the exciting sensations running through him from Derek's attention on his nipple and neck, his senses getting filled with his lust and scent and WANT. God, how he loved it! It all made him so hard so fast that he felt dizzy again. And the fact that Derek wouldn't care if others or their stalkers would see more than what was decent...  
  
"Home. Now!" he slid a hand to curl it around Derek's dirty shirt on his chest but before pushing him a bit back, he stole another heated kiss, which left him throbbing in his pants. For a moment he thought it was going to tear along the seams, but of course that didn't happen. "Not giving dad the shame of getting arrested for public indecency so... you'll have to wait for at least that long," he bit Derek's bottom lip and slid his hand down to cup the other just as prominent bulge for a good squeeze.  
  
"Now... back off a bit, my horny wolf!" he chuckled, finally pushing at Derek's chest so Stiles could fumble with the key in the ignition. Which was kinda hard with the distraction of a very gorgeous man horny for him leaning right into his personal space. But somehow Roscoe came alive under them and using muscle memory, Stiles backed out of the parking lot, eyes strictly on the road and making sure to keep the speed limit because no accident was needed right now with the boners they had.

There was the temptation for Derek to get a mouth full of what was hidden behind the tented jeans but knowing Stiles, he'd crash the car and they'd not get what they wanted. Stiles didn't do too well with distractions and there was nothing sexy about a trip to the hospital. So he backed off, settling back in his seat, taking the bag with the apple pie still in the cartons and gave one of them to his mate so he had something to concentrate on with his mouth.  
  
"Guess you better hurry," Derek told him, unzipping his pants after he had thumbed the button open. The leather jacket was draped on his knees, ready to grab it in case there was the risk of indecent exposure. Which was a real risk since there were traffic lights in Beacon Hills and the Hale had just pulled out his erection from his underwear. "You wouldn't want me to finish without you."  
  
He leaned back in his seat, glancing at Stiles as he wrapped a hand around himself, his thumb brushing over the head when he pulled the foreskin down. The digit came away wet. With flourish Derek sucked on his thumb as he slowly brought it to his mouth, tasting himself.

Stiles did take the opportunity to stuff his mouth with some apple pie instead of dick. That'd be more acceptable while driving, right? Though... choking on it while seeing from the corner of his eye what Derek was doing was definitely not a good thing. So he had to really concentrate not to gasp and inhale the bite in his mouth. The knuckles of his hand on the wheel turned white from the force he grabbed it with and with the other hand he nearly squeezed the liquid filling of the half-eaten pie out.  
  
"Jesus, Derek..." he groaned and fidgeted a bit in the driver's seat in an attempt to make his pants less uncomfortable. He failed. Spectacularly. And might have stepped on the gas a bit more to get home faster.  
  
_Five more minutes_... He'll have to endure this sensual torture only five more minutes before they'd leap at each other and... The sexual tension in the car skyrocketed and Stiles forgot to actually take a bite from the pie after he shifted gears, so it was just hanging in his mouth as he stole glances of how Derek was tasting his own pre-cum, and of the exposed flushed dick.  
  
_Fuck, fuck, fuck..._  
  
He so wanted to pull down to the side of the road and switch the pie for that other salty deliciousness!  
  
Realizing that he could tease Derek back just as good, he quickly stuffed the rest of the pie in his mouth and tossed the paper container down onto the floor as he chewed and swallowed the food quickly. He shifted gears again before they stopped by a traffic lamp and checked to see if some other cars were around. There weren't so he not so sneakily moved his right hand from the gear shift to wrap around the hard dick instead, smearing more beams of pre-cum down on its length, his grip firm and shameless as he kept pumping the thick shaft, his eyes checking the lamp and Derek's reactions in turns.

The arousal in the car was heady, especially when the human's flared up to where they were both about ten seconds away from tearing each other's clothes off. Not even the apple pie shoved into that skilled mouth was distracting enough, though it did please Derek that he had managed to make his mate eat more and it was a good oral picture to see how well that mouth could gobble up the pie. But what really got to Derek, what really made him moan was to see how much it affected Stiles what he was doing. How his mate was close to putting the car aside and jump him, his fingers clutching at the wheel so tightly that if he had been werewolf, it would have broken. Derek did that.  
  
It was a rush to him, made him part his mouth and lick his lips with a needy whine, when a hand reached over to grope him. It was so... kinky! Here they were in a car on the streets, others could pull up and look into the car and get an eyeful. Derek didn't even care, he grabbed at the upholstery of the car as he spread his legs, using his feet to push himself up into the hold.  
  
"I want to be inside you so badly. I want you like I never wanted anybody," the werewolf panted, wanting to fuck up into the hand more but that would definitely show so he gave the human a heated look, shoving his pants down a little more.

"I want that too! God... so fucking much! Feel you impale me on this..." Stiles squeezed the wet shaft and gave it a few more pulls just when the lamp turned to yellow. He quickly pulled his hand back then and sucked some pre-cum off his fingers before it was back on the gear shift and he stepped on the gas, eyes back on the road as much as he could concentrate with a raging hard on leaving a wet spot on his briefs and a horny, exposed gorgeous mate wanting him badly on the passenger seat.  
  
He felt like a fucking hero for not saying 'fuck it' and driving into the nearest bush or something. No, he instead stayed on the road and endured the torture which seemed so fucking endless! Lust was clouding his vision and burning him from inside, igniting the Spark so fast that he had no chance to stop that. But he didn't care.  
  
"Keep yourself hard... we're nearly there..." he groaned hoarsely and couldn't stop himself from fumbling with his belt and zipper to ease the pressure on his painfully hard cock at least a little bit. He didn't dare to touch himself or pull himself out in the open like Derek did, because then he wouldn't be able to concentrate on driving anymore. But he was desperate for at least that little relief as he was throbbing and leaking in his pants.  
  
And he did make a joyful sound when their building popped up on the end of the street he just turned onto, speeding up a bit more since traffic was very light in this part of town at this hour.

"I'm not getting soft, Stiles," Derek gave him an eyeroll. There was no way he was getting soft. However he did pull his pants up so he could get out of the car the moment it was parked so it wouldn't take more time away from them. The moment the jeep was parked, Derek was out of it, waiting for his mate to do the same so he could push him against the blue jeep and return to their frantic kisses. They were still out in the open though, still at a spot where they could be seen and discovered, even though it was a lot quieter there.  
  
"We should..." More frantic kisses, and groping and why was everything so far away? "We should get inside," Derek panted, not because he was afraid of getting caught since they lived here, but because of that some decency would be best with how their neighbors were all factories with a lot of workers. Not a show they'd want to give, nor a reputation they needed.  
  
Not even waiting for an answer, he dragged his mate with him, their dicks out sure, but that wasn't something people would immediately notice, if they walked fast enough. There was some fumbling with the code to get to the main stairwell where the elevator was too and then Stiles was slammed against the wall of the elevator, because they finally had some privacy. Derek's hand wrapped around the erection he’s wanted to grab minutes ago, giving it a tug.  
  
"Do you have lube on you?"

"I'm always prepared for you!" Stiles chuckled, his bruised and throbbing lips pulling into a dirty smirk and moaning from that big hand finally touching his more or less freed cock. Okay, he might have rather hissed than moaned because it was nearly too much.  
  
One hand was lost under Derek's dusty shirt so he could scratch and grope the damp skin there, the other fumbling around in his jeans' pocket for the two packages of lube he had with him. "And _you_ should get _inside_ already..." he chewed on Derek's bottom lip as he shoved the packages into his hand and chose to drive Derek even hornier with some sensual licking and biting on the thick neck, tasting the salt of the sweat and some dust and that beloved musky wolf and earth scent that seemed to always cling to his man's skin.  
  
It amazed Stiles that with time their lust for each other didn't ebb down at all like in other relationships. On the contrary, it seemed it only intensified with the months. Maybe one day it's going to end up in spontaneous combustion for them.  
  
That thought made him snort into Derek's neck while his hands pushed down the wolf's jeans and underwear enough to free the firm ass and the hard cock some more. It felt like an eternity since they got intimate like this and it showed on both of them with this feral lust and need for each other. The magic wasn't that active yet though because they've been careful to keep the balance with regular balancing rituals, so it was mostly just the two of them.  
  
And damn, they were both so hungry...  
  
"Fuck me already. Right here," Stiles urged his mate, teasingly leaning back against the elevator wall to arch his back and pull his tee up to essentially bare his flat belly to the alpha wolf. So very clear with the symbolism and significance this gesture meant for alphas.

"I'm working on it," Derek promised between clenched teeth since it was hard to talk with his mate hanging off his bottom lip like he did, nibbling and biting and sucking, releasing it only to get at it again. Their need was too frantic to even try to reach anything remotely looking like furniture, it was an animalistic need and the predator didn't have the patience for anything at the moment, anything but be inside Stiles and have his heat wrapped around him.  
  
Tearing at the packages of lube with his teeth while Stiles was busy presenting himself, he ripped them open, smearing one of them around his cock, coating it liberally to ease the way. Derek reached for the bunched up T-shirt since it offered a perfect hold to wrap his hand in, pulling Stiles closer to lick at the pale stomach as he pushed the human up higher and higher with the ease of werewolf strength. The other package of lube was stuffed in his mouth for a second, because he needed his hand to pull down Stiles' pants enough to bare the pale globes of flesh. The legs had to be wrapped around his middle, it was the only way for Stiles to have some kind of a grip with them as his back rested against the wall.  
  
The leftover lube was coated on Derek's fingers, and it was almost like an afterthought, the way the two digits smeared the clear lubrication around Stiles' entrance, pushing some of it inside him with some quick prodding. It wasn't enough to prepare the tight channel, it was enough to make sure the skin wouldn't tear from dryness.

"I need you so much," Derek breathed against the human's neck, the fingers guiding the thick erection to the tight hole.  
  
With both hands settling on the narrow hips, Derek's own hips fucked upwards with a punishing thrust as he pushed Stiles down. It made him sheathe inside the channel in one solid spearing, thick flesh burrowing inside with demand to the yielding walls. The alpha growled loudly, the claim was made.

The loosened pants and jeans kinda cut into Stiles' spread thighs, but he couldn't care less as his head banged against the elevator's wall and his desperate and loud yell echoed through the ground floor.  
  
The burning and stretch were bordering on too much, but that sweet pain and discomfort quickly turned into pleasure and feeling so very full with cock. The intensity left Stiles clawing at Derek's back under his shirt, leaving quickly healing claw marks on the warm skin.  
  
"FUCK!" the Spark groaned, his whole body trembling wildly both from the intrusion of his mate and the burning NEED to be taken by him. It was torture to wait a bit so his body could get more used to the stretch, but he used those few moments to attack Derek's mouth. His kiss was hungry and wild, all teeth and biting and sucking, not caring how messy it got.  
  
He was so fucking crazy for his mate it wasn't even funny anymore and his hips decided they were done waiting so Stiles' legs tightened a bit around Derek's middle so he could wriggle on the rock-hard cock buried deep in him. The message was clear: MOVE!

Derek had been panting as he had waited for the tight body to adjust to his large girth, all of his focus on keeping enough control to not thrust yet. They didn't do this often, Derek was mindful of the human's breakable skin, not wanting to rely on magic for Stiles to heal himself by borrowing the wolf's healing. Sure, it was a transference, the injuries would be healed by the wolf's body but just because he would be able to feel the pain he had caused, didn't make it alright to cause it in the first place.  
  
Stiles knew his limits better than Derek did, though, so when the message was made clear that he could move, there was not a second of hesitation. Fingers digging into the hips hard – and yes, that was going to cause bruises – the cock pulled back before pushing back in. The heat hadn't abated with the quench of being within his mate.

There was still a desperation clinging to their lovemaking, born out of the near loss they had gone through. Derek had died on Stiles, a fact they were both well-aware of and seemed to want to make up for by eagerly mating like the world was about to crumble around them.  
  
His thrusts were deep and hard as Derek angled his hips to slam them upwards with echoing slaps of flesh meeting flesh. It wasn't even about being inside Stiles, it was about knotting him and claiming him, the alpha chasing after his orgasm fast. His hands were needed to help Stiles move so he couldn't wrap his hand around the erection weeping between them but he could use his own pleasure and need to push it through the bond. He initiated the contact like that, and their arms didn't need to touch, they didn't need the ritual. Derek demanded for their souls to meet so they did, in a whirlwind of emotions, lust and love bleeding together.

"D-Derek! _Oh god_!" Stiles cried out, feeling all dizzy and overwhelmed he had to try several times to put words after each other. It was so intense, so frantic, so perfect! And what he felt from the wolf coming through their bonds and the magic... that was simply just... beautiful. Too much, nearly.  
  
"Wait! Can't feel my legs..." he stuttered as he felt the knot starting to press against his abused hole too, the thick slicked up cock moving so much easier by then. He also loved the fact that despite being so gone for each other, Derek immediately stopped and let Stiles' legs down after slipping out. It was pure torture for both of them, but the Spark knew what he wanted and since they were connected by the freely flowing magic too by then, he knew Derek saw in his head what he wanted.  
  
Stopping had been extremely hard to do, because Derek has been so eager to knot his mate but the moment Stiles had said stop, he had stopped. Always would, even when it felt too good to stop. Patiently he watched his mate get more comfortable, as comfortable as they could get in an elevator but it did make it easier for them both with how Stiles was back on his own two feet.  
  
Stiles quickly turned around in the small space between Derek and the elevator wall. He was so glad it was there for support, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand upright without that. He leaned on a forearm and hand, his other quickly pushing his clothes lower to free his ass and cock some more. Then he reached behind him to grab the flushed and wet shaft and lead it right back in, his fingers brushing against the very sensitive knot.  
  
He groaned loud as he was filled again and arched his back for a better angle before slapping his damp hand against the metal too, the scars of his mate bite on the back of his neck pointedly exposed for his alpha in submission, his whole body, being and soul trembling for Derek.  
  
"Like this... Now... Please!" he babbled barely coherent, readying himself for the knot and their pleasure.

The wolf didn't push back inside right away. No, instead he took a moment to look at the pretty picture the other painted: pressed against the metal wall like that, presenting himself. That, that was all _his_ , and even after seven months together, insane months, it made him feel awed. He wasn't deserving of Stiles, never had been. And yet he was all his to love and care for. Stepping closer, he kissed at the white scar of his own fangs, letting his tongue get familiar with the tissue again, sucking it wet.

"I love you," he said softly, the tip of his hard cock back to where it had been, sinking inside.  
  
It was a moment of gentleness before Derek was back to sinking in deeply, his teeth running along the skin without biting it. His hand went around Stiles to get him in his hand, stroking the uncut erection in time with his thrusts. It wasn't going to take long, the knot was firming up already, teasing at the rim.

Nice shivers ran down Stiles' half-exposed spine from the licking on his scars. It always felt over-sensitive and exciting when Derek paid attention to it. The licks and his mate's awed words made Stiles gasp then smile to himself then he was filled again and he moaned from the scrape of blunt teeth against the white scars.  
  
"Derek..." he panted, eyes rolling shut again from the intense pleasure that flared up in him from the stroking on his cock and the steady deep thrusts inside. They were getting very close again, very quickly. To help that along, Stiles arched his back a bit more and used his hands against the elevator wall as leverage to rock himself back and forth, helping Derek jerk and impale him and press against his wet rim.  
  
Stiles' panting and moans intensified just like his bucking. His insides were quivering in anticipation, the magic so close to the surface, lingering on their skin and making Stiles sweat more, his here and there exposed skin glistening from the light sheen while his bunched up T-shirt started sticking to his body.  
  
"D-Derek! Please... I want it!" he whined, the knot pushing against the rim with each thrust but never entering was extra torture and Stiles was burning up for it so badly. He wouldn't be surprised if in the moment of his orgasm he was going to literally burst into flames.

Derek hadn't even pushed down his pants, had only pulled out his erection and Stiles' jeans were still around his thighs, t-shirt bunched up while Derek hadn't even touched his own. Usually they weren't this frantic. They'd at least get undressed first but this time it was as if it all didn't matter at all. They were too close to even attempt it now. Derek only wanted to push inside with his knot and breed his mate.  
  
Luckily, Stiles wanted the same thing as he did, encouraging him to go all the way, not that he was able to stop it now when he had allowed the knot to start forming. His control over the knot wasn't a button he could push to make it go away again. Pushing into his mate's beautiful body a few more times, the knot was firming up more and more as Derek got close to the point of orgasm. One more time it managed to push passed the rim but it was a tight fit. The large bump locked tight, the wolf's hand tightened around Stiles' erection and paused as Derek groaned against the human's skin heatedly. His body shivered and shook, a rush of warmth trickling into Stiles.  
  
Grinding into the warm body, there was another gush. It would take a few minutes before his body was done, always having the idea that his mate could be bred if it tried hard enough.

There were some desperate and 'dying' sounds coming from Stiles because of the intensity the knot brought with. It happened each time he let Derek do him like that. Though now it was even more intense because of their burning and carnal need for each other and also because of the less than usual prepping of him. Not that Stiles minded it. The burning and the stretch were bordering on too much again, but when it would've tipped towards the point which he wouldn't have been able to bear, the knot slid home and locked them together and Derek began coming, bathing Stiles' insides in that maddeningly hot way.  
  
And Stiles just completely lost it.  
  
With his sweaty face pressed against the cool wall of the elevator, his whole body shook too and from the deep grinding he came so fucking hard into his mate's fist that he nearly blacked out. And the magic burst out, washed around them and indeed covered both of them in those amber flames as their souls melted into one, their physical pleasure becoming secondary compared to the spiritual one.  
  
Stiles didn't even know that he was crying from the beauty of all that warmth and love and relief that he was with Derek like that again. That he _could_ be with Derek like that again. That he was there with him and not buried six feet under.

The rush of the magic was felt since it was impossible not to with the way it rushed along their skin, inside them and around them. It was like being doused in a too hot bath where the skin pricked in shock as it had to get used to it and then it was only warmth surrounding them. Their clothes were sticking to them from sweat and grime, Derek was mostly holding Stiles up as they were both leaning against the wall now, the alpha's body shivering in aftershocks while locked with his mate.  
  
The stickiness in his hand, which was rapidly dripping down to the floor didn't go unnoticed, even though his attention had been on the way Stiles' body clenched around him in a vice, milking every last drop out of him as Derek keened at the feeling. It was too much, so no wonder the human's legs were barely able to hold him up if the wolf's knees were shaky as well. Resting his forehead against the sweaty shirt, he gently released the softening cock as he wrapped his other arm around the waist to keep supporting Stiles.  
  
For a moment Derek thought about what to do with his soiled hand, seemed like a waste to not lick it clean. Oh wait. He wiped it on Stiles' stomach instead, rubbing it in, intensifying the scent of sex in the elevator. He would have rubbed it on himself if he had a spot he could reach that wasn't covered in clothes. Not saying anything, he inhaled in and out deeply with his eyes closed, letting the connection of their bond and the afterglow of sex wash over him.

Stiles was barely conscious for a while, grateful for the support Derek's strong arm around his messy middle gave him. Otherwise he doubted he could've stayed upright. Okay, the elevator wall was doing a great job with the supporting too.  
  
Their bonds were wide open, their souls and bodies still connected and the tears were still falling, but Stiles didn't care. He just moved a hand to place it on top of Derek's around him. The magical flames slowly ebbed down around them, leaving only the perfectly balanced and sated back and forth flow between them. He could feel so much deep love and appreciation that it completely closed his throat off so instead of his usual babbling, he silently enjoyed and treasured every second of it and occasionally sniffed and let Derek feel just how much he loved his wolf back. How he was everything and more to Stiles.  
  
He never for one second agreed with his man about Derek not deserving him as his lover and mate. Stiles probably knew subconsciously quite early on that the Hale was IT for him. That no one else could compare or be a better fit for him. Sure, they weren't perfect – no one was – and yes, they were both broken by life not once, but they were willing to make it work between them. Their deep love for each other was undeniable along with the fact that they simply belonged together. And it made Stiles so very happy that Derek gave him all that after so many years living his life just drifting behind the facade he had put up on for everyone else.  
  
Derek meant _so much_ to him like no one ever did or will. Not even his beloved mother. Which was the biggest thing for Stiles to admit to himself. But it was time to face and accept that fact freely.  
  
"You're my whole world..." he whispered hoarsely, a few more fresh tears sliding down on his sweaty face, his hand's grip tightening around Derek's forearm.

At first he thought Stiles' tears, which he could smell in the air despite the overwhelming stench of sex, was because Derek had hurt him. There was some discomfort pulsing through their bond, sure, but not the kind of pain that would cause tears, so he wasn't sure if he should ask or not. Would it ruin the moment if he'd ask why Stiles was crying? They both were quietly in the moment, so it almost felt like a sacrilege to break it with words.  
  
Stiles was the first to speak up though, a quiet whisper which might as well be shouted with how clear the words were. The emotion behind them was raw, it made Derek's throat close up from that feeling he got around his mate so often the last weeks. That warm and fluttering feeling he had only known around Paige, that feeling called love. It wasn't the same as the love he felt for Beth, it was more like a nervous energy, the kind of love which ached, in a good way.  
  
"You're my future," he whispered back, their bodies still locked together tightly, the knot wasn't planning on going down just yet, probably because of the way their bodies felt, the intensity not lost. He knew now why there were hot tears, because of that feeling they shared. Had either one ever had the chance to feel love in the way they did now? They had known obsession, they had known lust, they had known crushes. But this? This was new and scary and addictive.  
  
"I hope you're crying because of how we feel right now..." Derek had to ask to make sure, even though a soft smile spread against the back of Stiles' neck where Derek's mouth was nuzzling at the salty skin.

Stiles both melted and chuckled lightly from those words. Yes, he was Derek's future just as much as Derek was his. No denying that. And he also knew that they both would kill to protect that future together.  
  
"Yeah, that and just very happy that you are here. With me..." he sniffed and wiped his face in the sleeve of his T-shirt before letting the warm lips and breath continue brushing against the scar on the back of his neck. Which was a physical manifestation of him belonging to his mate, his alpha. That was the reason why he wanted to keep it visible. And he usually absently kept touching it to reassure himself that this wasn't just a dream but reality indeed.  
  
"You were gone and I never want to feel that horrible feeling ever again. Or at least not for a very fucking long time. I want us to feel like this, right now. It is so deep and beautiful! I never before felt like this with anyone else. It is huge and sometimes scary but I want this. I want you. Always," he caressed Derek's arm, his eyes closing on a soft satisfied sigh. "It is perfect."

"I don't ever want to experience that horrible feeling," Derek huffed, because he had been blissfully unaware of the pain his mate had gone through when he had died. Though he could imagine some of it. When he had lost his entire family and all those pack bonds, he had never wanted to get that invested in others ever again, especially after Laura. It had felt like he had lost all his limbs all at once. To Stiles it must have felt like he had lost his heart straight from his chest.  
  
Did that mean Derek regretted getting invested this much in a mate and a pack? No, even though it scared him to think of all he had to lose again. Realistically he'd probably be the first to go. Hopefully he wouldn't drag Stiles down with him when it happened. His bonds to Beth and Jordan were solid and strong as his betas, nothing like the festering shadows of bonds he had with the teen betas years ago. But they didn't compare to what he had with Stiles.

"I'm scared of it too." The admittance was easier to give when he was talking to his mate's back, when they were still knotted and had nowhere to go or even move. "I'm scared of how much I feel for you. Now with my soul intact I know just how much you've managed to entwine yourself to mine. But I'm also happy that I get to be scared, that I get to love this much. I finally get to enjoy having sex, get to experience what it's like to be in love. I get to have my dream of a family. With you." His mate, his everything. "I'll never leave you voluntarily. I will fight it to the end."

"I'll fight it to the end too. You know that, Derek. And you can also feel that I'm a bit scared too from how much I love you but at the same time it's the best thing that had ever happened to me. Every sacrifice, every hardship... in the end is so worth it because I can get to love you like this. And now you really know how deep my love for you and our family and future goes. I don't want anything else in life but that. All the other things are secondary to that. And it also drives me to go on, to make this happen, to live through the hardships. Because you're... we are worth it. I hope you realized that by now," Stiles murmured, entwining their fingers around his body.

"I'm never worthy of you." That didn't mean he'd walk or run away, it was a fact that Derek Hale, despite his looks, wasn't much of a catch. Too much baggage, too many problems, too dangerous. Derek was a predator, there would always be a wildness to him, a difference to humans. Stiles accepted all of that, accepted him and everything that came with it even though it wasn't the easiest route to take. "But I'll do my best to earn you over and over."  
  
His knot had gone down enough to ensure the softened cock to slip out, along with a gush of semen. Good thing they had bought gallons in bleach, it was something they needed around here often. Derek kissed the neck.

"I can live with that. You earning me over and over in your head, even if I think it's unnecessary," Stiles chuckled softly then moaned in the same manner as his mate finally slid out of him, leaving him gaping and very, very wet with his release. Not that he minded. No, it made him flush a bit and a small satisfied smile played on his lips from it.

"How about you shower and I'll clean the elevator and when I shower, you make us a bowl of ice cream we'll eat in bed?" Besides the usual feeding of the pets that were still in the loft but didn't need to be walked. Because he doubted the human was capable of walking a lot right now.

"Okay, sounds like a good plan. And don't forget to bring up the remaining two apple pies from the car!" he said, holding up his loose pants with one hand as he slowly turned around and kissed Derek sensually.  
  
In a little while they were lying in bed all snuggled up and after their respective showers. Stiles was feeding them ice-cream with a spoon and they were grinning and gazing at each other like lovesick school boys. But neither of them minded. They were quietly enjoying each other's company and closeness before falling asleep in each other's arms.  
  
It was the perfect ending of an eventful day. They could deal with everything else in the morning. For now it was just them and basking in the love they shared.


End file.
